When Proton decided to auction off some of its EV concepts and prototypes as well as a few concept cars back in 2020, fans were outraged and begged the Malaysian Tiger to take back and restore some of them. Thankfully, Proton obliged with the EMAS and a Satria Cabriolet being pulled out of the auction but it’s too late for these Nissan concept cars.
Last week, a user posted amazing photos of a couple of Nissan concept cars at a scrapyard in Nashville, Tennessee, which isn’t far from Nissan’s American headquarters in Franklin. Just by looking at the sorry conditions of the 2002 Nissan Quest Concept and the 2007 Nissan Bevel Concept though, things aren’t going in the concept car or fans’ favour.
Almost immediately when it was posted on the Foreign Market Car Sightings Facebook group, the photos went viral and a group dedicated to preserving the Nissan Bevel Concept was even formed. Sadly, it was already too late and the Bevel preservation group is as effective as those change.org signatures.
According to The Drive, the concept cars were kept by Nissan USA in its heritage collection. Unfortunately, as their conditions deteriorated to the point they could no longer be maintained, the automaker decided to get rid of it.
As these concepts are pre-production vehicles, they could not be sold to the public or donated. Hence, the only option, sadly, is to have them crushed. The Drive managed to contact the person who discovered the ruined concepts, Dayton Cooper, who was visiting the junkyard at the time.
Despite Nissan’s claim that the concept cars’ worsened conditions, Cooper said the Bevel was in a better and more preserved state than the Quest. Aside from the rotting tyres, that is.
He managed to speak to a few employees there and crushing concept cars were done frequently at the lot. They never mentioned the brand nor how many exactly were crushed but it turns out that there was another third concept car that was also junked aside from the Quest and Bevel.
By the weekend, the concept cars’ fate to enter automotive Valhalla was sealed and it also revealed the third victim, the Nissan NCS concept from 1999.
Back when these cars were the stars of the show, the Quest Concept would preview the third generation of its namesake and it was a bold and daring look for an MPV. The concept had ample greenhouse thanks to the generous use of glass and an equally funky interior that is inspired by the USS Enterprise from Star Trek.
The production version would tone down some of the design but it was still a very radical minivan compared to its rivals like the and Toyota Sienna.
The Bevel was originally brown when it was first shown in Detroit before repainted to grey for the 2007 Shanghai Auto Show
Next is the Nissan Bevel which was an interesting crossover that was geared towards men between 45 and 60 years old. The boxy crossover concept is noted for its asymmetrical design with a large single door on the driver’s side and a pair of doors on the passenger’s side.
Unlike the Quest, the Bevel would not make it into production but some of its design elements can be seen on the Nissan Cube which wasn’t targeted to middle-aged men but younger buyers.
This looks like something Mitsuoka could come up with
Lastly is the Nissan NCS which stands for New Concept Sedan and at first glance, it looks to be the most production-ready of the 3 demised concept cars. Unveiled at the 1999 Chicago Auto Show, the interesting-looking car was meant to change the 4-door game by combining sports sedan style with the versatility of an SUV or MPV.
Nissan Heritage Collection in Zama, a must-see for every Nissan and JDM fan (Credit: plymouthvaliant on Imgur)
Nissan might be a larger automaker than Proton and they have a well-preserved and very extensive heritage collection in Zama, Japan. However, it can be difficult to continue preserving some of the collection, especially for concept cars which only act as a display and nothing more.
Not all Nissan concepts and prototypes are destined for the crusher like this MID-4 II (Credit: Concept Z Performance)
These concept cars and prototypes usually end up being in the crusher after their time of parading in motor shows around the world are up. Most of the time, these are being done quietly but in this day and age where anything and everything can be recorded easily, that kind of discreteness might be very difficult.
Keyword: Nissan crushes its past dreams by sending its old concept cars to the junkyard