■I wanted Toyota and Nissan to do this design!
Uncle, who spent such a young age, was blown away when he saw the concept car announced by Hyundai in July 2022. “Hey, isn’t this Silvia who ran the Fuji Super Silhouette?” That car is the concept car “N Vision 74”.
In the first place, it is called “N Vision 74”, but “N” refers to Hyundai’s high performance brand, like Mercedes’ AMG and BMW’s M company. “Vision” stands for a concept car in the sense of an image of the future, and “74” means 1974, the year in which the Pony Coupe, which is a tribute to this car, was released.
The powertrain is a fuel cell. Some people may not immediately connect with Hyundai fuel cells, but Hyundai is so proficient in fuel cell technology that it competed with Toyota for the title of “the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell vehicle.” It sells battery-powered SUVs (already released a large fuel-cell truck called Excent).
In other words, “N Vision 74” is a concept car that explores the possibility of a high-performance sports car in fuel cells, but honestly, the Showa-style exterior is so overwhelming that the topic is blurred.
As mentioned above, there is also a reason that the “Hyundai Pony Coupe (also a concept car)” released in 1974 is a motif. But the pony coupe itself is nothing like a race car. In other words, the N Vision 74’s large overhanging front and rear fenders, bamboo toothed chin spoiler, dish-type wheels, rear glass louvers, and other “Showa feeling” elements are all arranged by the current Hyundai design department.
But. As a Japanese person, I regret that I wanted Toyota and Nissan to do this design. If such a Japanese car was released (it doesn’t have to be a fuel cell!), Showa’s old men would have drooled and jumped at it, and there is no doubt that it has made a tremendous contribution to the recovery of the popularity of sports cars (tears). It is not late from now. Nissan once announced a 510 Bluebird-like concept car called “IDx”, but I would like you to think of a way to make it commercially available!
The N Vision 74, which boasts a maximum output of 500 kW (regarding 680 ps), also shows off a splendid drift in the demo movie released on YouTube. Today’s cars are busy with ecology and computerization, but I would like you not to forget the “freshness as mobility” that Showa cars had.
