Description
Nissan Interior – The Gearshift and Its Story
Nissan commissioned Target Design to develop the design of a complete interior for a compact vehicle.
During the briefing sessions, we discovered that the Japanese chief designer responsible for the project was a great admirer of German fighter aircraft. We showed him the control stick of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 from our family collection. His enthusiasm was immediate. He asked us to develop an automatic gear selector inspired by this distinctive ergonomic design philosophy.
This encounter led to a distinctive interior concept featuring a gear selector whose form and ergonomics paid homage to the legendary Bf 109.
When our 1:1 model arrived in Japan, T.S. wrote to us:
“I went to the interior studio to see the model with much expectation. And I was very satisfied and delighted.
For, I felt that the design you offered us is just an exact embodiment of our concept, which I communicated last October.
I was also very impressed by the quality and originality of your design including deep consideration especially for the details and I realized that our co-working project were finished very successfully.
I hope we would have another opportunity to work together in the future. Thank you!”
It was an unusual project in which a personal interest of the client became the starting point for a concrete design idea – transforming a historic aircraft detail into a distinctive element of modern automotive design.
The subsequent merger of Nissan and Renault unfortunately brought this special collaboration to an end.
