Nissan crossover shown in patent images looks like production Ariya EV

When Nissan unveiled the Ariya concept in October in Tokyo, it said the electric crossover would not only go into production, but was pretty much the same deal buyers would find in showrooms. Now, new images purportedly pulled from Argentina’s patent office appear to back that up.

Instagram account @cars_secrets spilled the beans with a series of rough black-and-white renderings, similar to those ones found recently showing the next-generation Rogue, that look almost indistinguishable from the Ariya concept EV. The only thing that suggests this remains more concept than production model is the lack of side mirrors.

Otherwise, distinguishing details are few and far between. Up front there’s a different treatment along the lower bumper, giving it some vertical slats, and along the side, the charging port has become its own little island along the front left flank, where it hugged the door seam on the concept. There’s also now a shark-fin antenna mounted on top, and the wheels are likely a bit smaller than those on the concept, which would comport with what Nissan design boss Alfonso Albaisa told Autoblog earlier this year: “They are almost identical to see them. It’s just a matter of degree of expression. The wheels are an inch bigger. The Ariya is 7 millimeters wider.” That means the production version subtracts about a quarter-inch from the former’s 75.6-inch width.

The Ariya is itself an evolution of the IMX concept crossover from the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, and it borrows the latter’s roomy interior and flat floor from the EV architecture. It also wore a minimalist dashboard — minimalism being a key design trait for the automaker moving forward, Albaisa said — with glowing, haptic touch controls and other interior features that are safe to assume won’t make it into production.

Nissan was reportedly showing a version of the crossover to dealers back in August, saying it would go from 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds and have a 300-mile driving range. It’s expected to get Nissan’s new e-4ORCE dual-motor, all-wheel drive powertrain and reach showrooms in late 2021.

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