19-10-2005
The Foria is a compact coupe concept targeted at customers looking for performance, elegance and high quality.
Emphasis placed on quality
The feeling one experiences when seeing or touching well-designed and crafted objects was uppermost in the minds of the Foria design team. That concept was projected throughout the exterior and interior with the aim of creating a car whose value cannot be measured just in terms of specifications or performance figures.
Fun-to-drive package
The Foria is packaged as a compact 2+2 coupe. The front-engine, rear-drive layout allows an exceptionally short front overhang, long hood and compact cabin. These styling features, together with the neatly-styled rear and 18-inch wheels positioned at the four corners, result in a car that is not only pleasing to look at but also delivers driving pleasure. Powered by a mid-sized engine and paddle-shift automatic transmission, the powertrain promises agile driving in town, as well
as fully engaging performance when traveling on more open roads. Four-wheel Active Steer gives reassuring precision and steering feel at all driving speeds.
Center-opening, B-pillarless doors have been adopted for effortless access to the rear seats in the coupe body style. The large door openings make it easy to get in and out of the rear seats despite the sporty position of the front seats.
Elegance and sportiness
The exterior styling lends an air of elegance to the car. An integrated grille and headlamps form a powerful front face. The headlamps are a combination of precision technology and jewelry-like quality, with deep blue lenses reminiscent of cut-sapphires.
A horizontal body-line motif along the sides conveys an image of power and elegance. The aluminum moldings reflect the wrap-around window shape while the outside mirrors and door handles express a sense of elegance.
The curved rear of the Foria serves to heighten the car's overall dynamism. The slim, elegant character lines around the back and the crystal-like expression of the rear combination lamps lend a refined atmosphere to the overall appearance.
Strong sense of driving purpose
While the interior design reinforces the car’s dynamic potential, the accent is on elegance. The control switches on the center stack and the instruments are designed to appeal to those who love mechanical instruments and to capture the spirit of traditional silver halide cameras. That feeling combines with a sporty driving position to convey a strong sense of driving purpose. The multifunction dial commander and large function switches in the middle of the center stack are designed to
reduce the driver’s workload substantially, while providing multifunctional capabilities.
The instrument panel, center stack and door trim are embellished with thick saddle-like leather which is smooth to the touch and has a carefully designed texture. In combination with the metal parts, the result is a fusion of sportiness and elegance. The hand-stitched seams around the edges convey a warmth characteristic of hand-made articles. A dimpled surface pattern, inspired by Japan’s traditional inden leather craftsmanship, is used on the steering wheel grips, the back of the shift paddles, the gearshift knob and other surfaces.
The interior is finished in a lustrous gray sports jersey fabric that combines with the brown leather of the instrument panel and other trim parts, as well as the ivory-colored front seats, to project a contemporary look.
The wide dashboard monitor is positioned for minimal change in the driver’s line of sight and its exceptional width is used to good advantage to display all the distances of the recommended route in one screen. In addition, the monitor can be used selectively, such as for simultaneously displaying a navigation map and point-of-interest (POI) information which can be obtained live while driving
Text and photos courtesy of Nissan
