The Man Behind The VehiCROSS

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 INTRO
00:53 EARLY LIFE
04:16 EARLY ISUZU YEARS
07:45 ISUZU EUROPE
11:05 ISUZU 4200R
12:41 ISUZU COMO F1 SUPER TRUCK
13:28 ISUZU EXITS PASSENGER CAR MARKET
13:57 ISUZU VEHICROSS
19:32 LATER ISUZU CAREER
20:07 NISSAN TENURE
25:41 RETIREMENT/AIM EV SPORT 01 CONCEPT

SOURCES

www.barchetta.co/shiro-nakamura-sources

Shiro Nakamura melded philosophies from the worlds of music and car design to carve out an impressive career in the industry. He’s best known for heading up Nissan design in the 2000s and 2010s. Under his watch, the company tightened up its styling operations and adopted a bold, distinctive new look. Before this, Nakamura led Isuzu’s efforts. That might not sound very exciting on the surface seeing as how the automaker gets by on trucks and sport utilities nowadays. In its heyday, it built radical concept cars and genre-defining production vehicles. Nakamura was right in the thick of it. And he’s still making waves in the design world years after his retirement.

Shiro Nakamura melded philosophies from the worlds   of music and car design to carve out  an impressive career in the industry. He’s best known for heading up  Nissan design in the 2000s and 2010s. Under his watch, the company tightened up its   styling operations and adopted  a bold, distinctive new look.

Before this, Nakamura led Isuzu’s efforts. That might not sound very exciting on the surface   seeing as how the automaker gets by on  trucks and sport utilities nowadays. In its heyday, it built radical concept  cars and genre-defining production vehicles. Nakamura was right in the thick of it.

And he’s still making waves in the  design world years after his retirement. Welcome to another episode of Industry Icons! Shiro Nakamura, a native  of Osaka, was born in 1950. He grew up in an environment  that nurtured his creative side.

His father was a businessman who adored  classical music while his mother was a painter. His uncle, a professional violinist,   no doubt played a role in  Nakamura’s appreciation for music. Conversely, almost no one in his life liked cars. This isn’t surprising.

Coming out of the war, conventional cars were  out of reach for the vast majority of people. Many relied on scooters, motorcycles,  or kei cars to get around. The only other person in his family who had  a connection to automobiles was his uncle.

It isn’t clear if this was the violinist  or a different uncle altogether. This relative left quite an impression on him. In a 2015 interview with Car Magazine,   he said that he let a 12-year-old Nakamura  behind the wheel of his Mazda R360.

He also kept an eye on what was going on  in the American and Italian industries, directly citing General Motors, Pininfarina,  and, Giorgetto Giugiaro as inspirations. In the mid-to-late 60s, who  wouldn’t have been inspired by them?

He knew that he wanted to be a car designer while  he was in high school, but there was a problem. At the time, there weren’t any  dedicated car design programs in Japan. There was at least one other designer  who was in the same predicament.

Nakamura opened an issue of Car  Graphic and learned of Hideo Kodama,   a Japanese car designer who worked at Opel. Kodama broke in by enrolling in  an industrial design program. Nakamura had two schools on his list: Tama Art University, which was Kodama’s  alma mater, and Musashino Art University. Nakamura chose the latter.

A modern industrial design program isn’t going to   be as focused on cars as a dedicated  transportation design program will be, but a lot of the thinking and  fundamentals will transfer over. Some courses even have car design tracks for  those seeking a more specialized curriculum.

Car design education in Japan wasn’t  nearly as comprehensive in his day. The professor didn’t mention  it once during the program. Nakamura became bored with his studies  and sought another creative outlet. And that came in the form of music. He began playing the upright bass in high school.

It had always been something of a diversion,   but with the way university was going  he started to take it more seriously. The book Car Men 15: Shiro Nakamura  by Marzia Gandini says that earning   a living as a musician was  a real possibility for him.

It gave him everything that  he wasn’t getting in school;   excitement, creative freedom, and  more than a bit of money on the side. Both music and design were creative fields,   but they existed in two different  worlds and vied for his attention.

As tempting as it was to leave everything  behind and strike it out on his own, he couldn’t let his childhood  dream slip through his hands. Isuzu offered him a job as soon  as he graduated. He took it and   kicked off a long career in automotive design. Music didn’t go anywhere, though.

It would shape many of his philosophies and help  him develop as a designer as well as a leader. Isuzu appealed to Nakamura for a few reasons. It was a smaller company and he believed  that he’d be able to make a greater impact. Isuzu also had a close  relationship with General Motors.

In 1971, GM purchased a 34  percent interest in the company. Nakamura hoped that there could  be opportunities to work abroad   and make connections with employees there. In many respects, it was the best of both worlds. His first assignment tested his abilities. The J-Body cars were going to be  critical products for General Motors.

Decades of ignoring compact cars  were finally catching up to them. Offerings from European and Japanese manufacturers  were taking the Detroit Three to the cleaners. GM hoped that the J-Body cars would  turn the tides back in their favor. All of its makes received a version. *sigh* even Cadillac.

Nakamura worked on Isuzu’s version,  which was known as the Aska. That car didn’t come a moment too soon. The aging Florian had been on sale since the  late 60s and was long overdue for a replacement. He held his own during this high-stakes  project despite his inexperience.

Nakamura, eager to broaden his horizons,  stepped into the next phase of his career. This wouldn’t be in Japan or  Detroit but in California. Isuzu designers had the opportunity to go to Art   Center College of Design in  Pasadena on a sponsorship. Nakamura took advantage of this.

He was already in the industry, so what did  he have to gain from going back to school? The curriculum would be more relevant to him since  it was a dedicated transportation design program. It also gave him a chance to grow  both professionally and personally. After a conversation with  colleague Hidetaka Neghishi,  

Nakamura became even more motivated to excel here. Negishi had also gone to Art Center and told  him what he should aim for during his stay. “You will be number one at the Art Center. But that is not enough for you, it is too easy. You have to go further.”

How exactly would Nakamura define “going further?” Isuzu would only pay for a year of schooling. He could ace his classes,  but anyone could do that. No, he needed to do more. He spoke with one of his professors and asked if   it was possible to complete  the entire degree in a year.

If you know anything about Art Center,  then this should sound crazy to you. The school is known for pushing  its students to the limit. Normally it would take a little  over 2 1/2 months to complete. Nakamura wanted to condense  all of that into a single year.

His professor said that, yes, it was possible, and he could attempt to do so if he chose. Nakamura sacrificed his time, energy,  and sanity in pursuit of his goal. In 1981, he earned his Bachelor’s  Degree in Transportation Design. He returned to Japan hungrier  and more determined than ever.

Isuzu assigned him to its advanced design  department. He worked here until 1985, at which point he moved over  to GM’s advanced design studio. It wouldn’t be until 1989 that Nakamura  would enter a position of leadership.   This was a fascinating time  in the company’s history.

Its passenger cars saw moderate success in the  market, whether as Isuzus or captive imports. It also showcased its engineering aptitude  when it developed its own Formula 1 engine. The P799WE was a 3.5L V12 that  produced about 730 horsepower. And the company didn’t have to  look far for a potential suitor.

Lotus, another company under GM  control, was active on the circuit. It had recently washed its hands of the unreliable   Lamborghini V12 and was on  the hunt for a replacement. The company gave Isuzu’s motor an honest chance,   even going as far as to install  it into an F1 car for testing.

According to an article from The Drive,   it was shoehorned into the 102B,  making a car referred to as the 102C. This is where the experiment ended. Lotus had concerns about its  weight as well as Isuzu’s   relative inexperience in this line of work. The company tried to give it a second life.

Gordon Murray needed an engine for the McLaren F1. Isuzu offered to supply the 799,  but Murray turned them down. He wanted a power plant from  a more proven manufacturer. Things didn’t work out in  their favor but just think: there’s a universe where the McLaren  F1 is powered by an Isuzu V12

The company also sought to  expand its design influence. In 1989, it sent him to its European  headquarters in Brussels and tasked   him with establishing a studio in the region. Nakamura started with nothing but soon  established a base in Birmingham, England. Since he didn’t have a staff,  worked with designers from Lotus.

Those in the know might  recognize some of these names: Anthony Lo, Julian Thompson, and Simon Cox. As chaotic a time as this was, he  still managed to make time for music. Car Men goes into detail about how he  gained a deeper understanding of it.

He worked with a cello teacher in Brussels  and learned about music history at Cambridge. He even began building his very own violin. In a way, this reflected his newfound  responsibilities at Isuzu Europe. He already knew what it took to design a car.

Management required a new skillset, and  he would need to approach the development   process from a different angle to  truly thrive in his new position. Stepping out of the studio trenches has a  way of increasing one’s grasp of car design.

Similarly, creating a violin from scratch will  enhance the connection that one has with music. There’s also a link to the journey that  automotive designers may go on in their careers. In referring to his violin endeavor Nakamura said: “I do not have much time,

And it is a project that will  probably continue for many years, and I may never finish, but I like to know it is there, unfinished, ready to evolve.” Similarly, designers are ever-evolving. It doesn’t matter how long  they’ve been out of school   or how many decades of experience they have.

They’ll always be students of their craft. And with the breakneck pace that  the automotive industry moves at, they have little choice but to evolve. The first project that he was involved  with in his new role was the 4200R concept. Isuzu unveiled the dramatically-styled  sports car at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show.

Cab-forward designs were very  much in vogue at the time,   and the 4200R is one of the more extreme  examples that I’ve seen in this vein. Organic shapes reign supreme. Take note of the stubby front overhang, oblong  DLO, and elongated headlights and fascia elements.

Stark, orthogonal lines come into the  equation just ahead of the rear wheel. The intake’s edge slices up past the  haunch and defines the rear door. Yes, rear doors. More on those a bit later. Everything behind this point serves as a  nice contrast to the rest of the design.

An attempt was made to tie these areas together. The cutline transitions into the vent, goes into  the curve, and sweeps back into the panel gap. This intersection, with the curve, vent,  gap, and door cut, is especially satisfying. Somehow, the designers integrated a  set of small rear doors onto the body.

They’re hinged at the rear and slide  back to aid access to the back seats. It was envisioned to be more than a  sports car or even a grand tourer. Isuzu set out to build a  bleeding-edge workstation on wheels. It came equipped with a host of  features, including a fax machine.

What I wouldn’t give to see that thing in action. The 4200R truly encapsulated the  spirit of bubble-economy Japan. Two years later, Isuzu unveiled  an even more bizarre concept car: the Como F1 Super Truck. The F1 in its name comes from its engine. Engineers installed the F1-bound  P799WE ahead of the rear axle.

That’s right. This is a mid-engine  12-cylinder pickup truck. And it doesn’t have a typical bed, either. The slick tonneau cover pops open like a boot. Lincoln used a similar arrangement  for the short-lived Blackwood. And the tailgate slides into  the body to ease loading. This area also houses the engine compartment.

And it has scissor doors because why not? While neither of the aforementioned  cars had a real shot at being built, they could’ve probably inspired  the next generation of Isuzus. Not even that would come to fruition. The company’s sales had been on  the downswing for quite some time,

And the collapse of Japan’s economy meant that  the company needed to make drastic changes. In 1993. Isuzu stopped building passenger cars. Whatever cars it did sell would  be sourced from other automakers. Isuzu focused on what it  did best; trucks and SUVs. But don’t think that they’d be playing it safe.

That very same year, the company  unveiled the VehiCROSS concept. Isuzu wanted to get the car on the road  as quickly and painlessly as possible. A 1999 Motor Trend article states  that they skipped styling clinics   and pushed finance check-ins aside  in the transition to production.

This also meant that time and  resources were in short supply. The same article said that the development cycle  was about half the length of the typical car. Tooling would have been a  time and financial bottleneck. To get around this, Isuzu utilized ceramic dies. The aforementioned Motor Trend  article stated that a normal die  

Could cost about $1.5 million  and take 4 months to develop. A typical car could require between 20-30 of them. While a mainstream vehicle could  warrant that kind of investment,   a niche offering like the VehiCROSS  wouldn’t have much of a business case.

Ceramic dies, on the other hand,  could be made in about 6 weeks   for between half and a third of  what a conventional die costs. There was a serious drawback, though. They weren’t nearly as durable. Isuzu would only be able to  get a few thousand examples  

Out of the factory before the dies wore out. In 1997, the company released  the car in the Japanese market. Two years later, Isuzu discontinued it  there and brought it to American shores. The production model largely  carried over the concept’s design. It wasn’t a complete 1:1 transfer, though.

The concept sits lower and wider.  It feels more car-like in execution. This is due in large part to  a difference in architecture. According to a Curbside Classic article, the  concept was built on a modified Gemini platform while the production model used  the SWB 2-door Trooper platform.

Compared to everything else  they were building at the time, the VehiCROSS stood out. One of the most distinguishing exterior  elements is the polypropylene bodywork. As the painted section curves inward,  the darkened portion pillows out. Exposed screw holes further emphasize  its rugged, utilitarian nature.

Most other automakers wouldn’t dare build  a car with these out in the open since   they could potentially make it look unfinished. They work on the VehiCROSS, though. The darkened hood, which was designed to  reduce glare, ties into the two-tone look Things only get stranger around back.

Many off-road-focused vehicles use  exposed spare tires to suggest capability. The VehiCROSS has this too. Or something like it, at least. It’s housed in a compartment in the tailgate. This has some… interesting side effects. A cylindrical protrusion serves  as a jarring change in surfacing.

Down below, the hatch has to take on  a rounded shape to adapt to the tire. Up top, the rear window has  to curve heavily to clear it. While it’s a striking detail, it  also hampers rearward visibility. Isuzu was aware of this and offered a full-color  backup camera and display in the Japanese market.

It’s housed in this ungainly enclosure. A cleaner integration would’ve been nice,   but as one of the first systems of its  kind, it isn’t all that surprising. Unfortunately, this system was not  offered in the American market. I’m not sure if this was  due to regulations or cost.

Coming back to the rear design, there’s  certainly a method to the madness. The body color and polypropylene  sections are split across the middle. The visual weight of the license  plate is offset by the camera housing. The window curve mirrors that of the hatch line. And from certain angles, the  spoiler offsets the undercarriage.

There’s a certain charm to the  VehiCROSS, though I do have a few gripes. The market light on the  side is pretty distracting. It’s too large and too close  to the polypropylene section. I’m also not sure about these lines on the doors. While they make the car feel a bit smaller,  

They also add more visual noise  to an already busy design. Isuzu unveiled two VehiCROSS-based  concept cars after its release. The VX-02 was an open-top variant  introduced at the 1999 New York Show. Years later, cars such as the  Range Rover Evoque convertible,   T-Roc Cabriolet, and Murano CrossCabriolet  would make headlines using this blueprint.

A commenter also pointed out that a character  in the film Mission to Mars drove a VX-02. That movie took place in the year 2020. Cars in that vein have found an audience.  Maybe Isuzu was on to something. The following year, Isuzu  unveiled the 4-door VX-4 concept.

While it definitely would  have broadened its appeal,   I can’t help but feel that it looks a bit strange. It doesn’t take the extra  sheet metal particularly well. The rear doors are also much  shorter than the front ones. If they were closer to the same size  then perhaps it wouldn’t look as jarring.

The VehiCROSS was always going to  be a niche product, and in the end,   Isuzu built just under 6,000 in total. 4,153 of them were sent to the American market. A company rep told Motor Trend that  the dies could produce about 2,400   annually for the American market  for two years before wearing out.

Judging by the numbers, it still seemed to  have fallen short of their expectations. That’s a small price to pay to have  a cult classic in one’s model lineup. The next few years were a whirlwind for Nakamura. He returned to Tokyo in 1993 and  worked as a design manager until 1997.

After this, Isuzu sent him to the US and  named him its VP of product planning. He was supposed to stay for three years,  but the company called him back after one. In 1999, he became a general manager and was  tasked with reinventing their design strategy.

Concepts such as the Kai and VX2  showcase a new, chiseled form language. Just as he was settling into his new job, he received a phone call that would  change the trajectory of his career. Nakamura picked up and found himself speaking  with a New York-based headhunting firm.

It was calling on behalf of an unnamed major   Japanese automaker that was in  search of a new design chief. If he were interested, then he could fly  to the Big Apple and interview for the job. Nakamura figured that Nissan  was the company in question. After a tumultuous period,  

It entered an alliance with Renault  and went through a major restructuring. Its design department needed a firm guiding hand. He balked at the idea, but not  for the reason you may think. They called him on the company line. He wanted them to call him on his personal phone.

The offer seemed intriguing, and he  became even more enamored with the   idea after meeting with Nisan reps in New York. Still, he found it difficult  to leave Isuzu behind. According to Car Men, he met  with Nissan president Carlos   Ghosn and told him that he was having an  especially hard time making a decision.

At the end of it, he asked for until  the end of August to make his choice. Six hours later, Nakamura called him  back and told him that he’d take the job. The top job at Isuzu was a high-stakes affair,   but it paled in comparison to what  he’d have to grapple with at Nissan.

Its sheer scale presented an issue in itself. As one of Japan’s “Big 3” automakers, the company  employed a small army of designers and modelers. 700 in total. Isuzu’s design  team was about 100 strong. Nissan’s staff was also split across  Japan, Europe, and the United States.

Instead of working under a unified  vision, they did things their way. Early on, Nakamura focused on streamlining their  operations and getting everyone on the same page. Nissan Design Europe moved out of Munich,  Germany, and into the Rotunda in London. The building was constructed in constructed  in the 1960s but fell into disrepair.

Nissan picked this location because of its size. It allowed the company to have a large,   well-equipped studio in a  densely-packed urban environment. The company also maintained a technical  center in nearby Cranfield, so the move   also improved communications  between designers and engineers. Nissan Design Europe has called  the Rotunda home since 2003.

Nakamura also took over direct supervision  of Nissan Design America in La Jolla. In a 2004 New York Times article, he said  that he didn’t want to change the people. He wanted to rethink its approach and how  it fit into the company’s refocused plan.

Many automakers at the time were going  retro, but he was staunchly against the idea. Nissan would have to win back the hearts of  car buyers by going in its own direction. So what would it do now? Models  would be inspired by product design,   architecture, and interior design.

In a 2008 Reuters article, he  said that he also looked to music. It wouldn’t directly  influence how the cars looked. Rather, music informed its overall strategy. He likened upscale cars to classical music in that  certain foundational rules had to be followed, reasoning that luxury buyers all  over the world had a common eye.

Infiniti went against the  grain in its early years,   so this could be seen as the brand sacrificing  its character in pursuit of greater appeal. On the other hand, they’d largely failed to endear   themselves to the public  with their old philosophy. Nissan had more freedom to bend the rules.

Nakamura compared its new design  philosophy to genres like jazz and rock. These fields were more open to experimentation,  and this was reflected in Nissan models. This was especially evident early on,  though it still applied later in his tenure. Rather than having common design elements,  the cars would share fundamental principles.

Most importantly, they would be  distinctly Japanese products. A quick note. I’ve made dedicated  videos on both the 350Z and 370Z,   so they won’t be mentioned here. If you want to learn more about them then I’ll  leave links to both videos in the description.

The Cube and Juke stood out  the most in Nissan’s lineup. The former had been in production since 1998,   but it wouldn’t reach the American market  until its third generation in 2008. Its styling drew from product  design more than car design. Nakamura even likened its rear  door to that of a refrigerator.

Asymmetry is also emphasized here, most  notably in its wraparound glass motif. The door handle is placed on the left side  of the rear to balance things out a bit. It’s an ambitious design in a few ways,   but in my opinion, it isn’t as  successful as its predecessor.

It lost an edge that that car had  (both literally and figuratively).   For a mainstream product, the Juke has  rather very unconventional styling. It looked radically different from the Cube as  well as every other product in Nissan’s lineup. The front-end arrangement is especially striking.

Lighting functions have been split  between two separate housings. The ones up top have the parking lights and turn   indicators while the large circular  ones house the low and high beams. Models equipped with foglights have  even more distinctive light signatures. The Juke, for as unusual as it looks,  was a trailblazer in this regard.

Many cars nowadays have a  similar lighting arrangement. Modern setups typically aren’t as strange  as the Juke’s but the inspiration is there. Shiro Nakamura resigned from his position in March  of 2017 and was succeeded by Alfonso Albaisa. He didn’t fade into the background  after stepping down, though. He launched two design studios:

Shiro Nakamura Design Platform in Daikanyama,   Tokyo, and Hollywood Hills  Creative Platform in California. They assist other companies in creative endeavors,   though they can also take  on projects on their own. In 2023, the firm grabbed  headlines with the AIM EV Sport 01. AIM was founded in 1998 and cut its  teeth developing racing engines.

It wanted to show that it could do more and  began working on its own electric sports car. SNDP did the exterior design. If it ever reaches production, then the  Sport 01 would fill a hole in the market. It has 483 horsepower and  weighs just 3,150 pounds.

In the age of heavy electric sports  cars, this one would stand alone. Other companies have unveiled  concepts with a similar formula,   but none of them have been built at scale. According to an article from  CAR Magazine, the company   said it believed that it could probably get  600 horsepower from the components used.

It was more than a paperweight. In July of 2023, the car participated  in the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It was intended to be an engineering study,   but AIM is considering a limited run  after a warm reception at the event. We know how these things go.

There’s a high likelihood that this is as far as   it’ll ever get. I still have  my fingers crossed, though. Shiro Nakamura has left an impression at  every automaker that he’s been a part of. Isuzu released some of its most iconic concept  and production cars while he was at the helm.

At Nissan, he guided its design operations  when the company was in its darkest hour. And he continues to make a positive  impact in his new endeavor. Shiro Nakamura is definitely an Industry Icon!