The Nissan Terranaut was a
4x4
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
shown at the
Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
in 2006. It was described by its manufacturer as being designed for
scientists
A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophica ...
,
geologists
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...
,
archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
or adventurers, and would have seated three people, including an operator of a
workstation
A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workstat ...
.
Pics of Nissan Terranaut
- Autoblog.com (AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017â ...
). Retrieved 2010-02-21.
Design
The car houses three seats and a rotating spherical pod, which allows the driver to quickly rotate to their desired position outside. It measures 4.965m from stem to stern, and is just over two metres tall and two metres wide. The purpose of the extra room is to house a mini-laboratory for use in the field. It has enough refrigerated storage space to support the car's three operators for up to a week out in the field, and tents and sleeping bags
A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping o ...
may be stored in the door's storage compartments.[Nissan Terranaut at the Geneva Auto Show]
- AutoChannel.com. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
On the exterior of the car, low overhang and good ground clearance allows the Terranaut to traverse into rough terrain. Instead of a trunk
Trunk may refer to:
Biology
* Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso
* Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure
* Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy
* Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant
Computing
* Trunk (software), in rev ...
at the back of the car, the Terranaut features an air lock drawer, which allows easy and safe access to clinical samples placed in the air lock drawer by someone on the outside by a lab analyst still inside the car. External displays and touch screens on the rear of the car allow those on the outside data access to information stored inside the vehicle. A controlled atmosphere on the interior may be maintained through the use of highly reflective glass, which bars sun, glare, snow or ice from disrupting scientific analysis inside the vehicle.
See also
* Nissan Pivo The Nissan Pivo is a series of electric concept cars created by Nissan, with the first one introduced in 2005 at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Pivo 1
The Pivo is a concept car created by Nissan, first introduced at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. The car is ...
* Nissan Actic
The Nissan Actic was a concept car design study by Nissan Design America in La Jolla, California, and presented at the 2004 North American International Auto Show. The vehicle itself is a crossover SUV style, with smooth, bullet-shaped bodywork ...
References
{{nissan
Terranaut