Press days for the 2013 New York Auto Show are over, so now it’s time to move our attention to the next show on the docket: Auto Shanghai 2013 set to start on April 20. In the Big Apple, Nissan->ke62 unveiled the hybrid version for the Nissan Pathfinder and the company will bring an all-new concept car called Friend-ME to China.

All the information we have on the new concept up to this point is a teaser image that reveals an innovative set of headlights and Nissan’s announcement that the new Friend-ME will feature a unique center console that allows "Four Seats, One Mind Connectivity" - equal information sharing among all aboard.

According to Nissan, the new Friend-ME is "designed for the vibrant, young generation in China, one of most exciting segments in the fastest-growing automobile markets in the world."

Alongside the new Friend-ME concept, Nissan will also display 20 new models in Shanghai.

Updated 04/20/2013: Nissan has officially unveiled the Friend-ME Concept. See all of the details after the jump.

2013 Nissan Friend-ME Concept

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2013 Nissan Friend-ME Concept
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Exterior

The exterior of the Friend-ME concept is far sexier than we ever could have thought. Sure, it’s just a concept, but Nissan really put together a piece of art for the Chinese market to drool over.

From the front, you will see a wide and low stance, a prominent V-shaped grille surround, boomerang-style headlights and huge ridges on the outer edges of the hood. Additionally, you will notice the shallow rake to the windshield that allows air to swoop freely up and over the car.

Down the side, there are some very pronounced bodylines that look as if they were eroded into the body by airflow swooping up and over the front fender, and down the shoulderline of the Friend-ME concept. The side-view mirrors are nonexistent – we assume they are cameras – and the overall profile takes on a more hatchback look from the side.

Around the backside, you get a slightly more production-looking car, but it is still pretty modern. The boomerang treatment is applied to the taillights, so they match up with the headlights perfectly. The rear skirt features integrated tailpipes and a long, chrome strip on the base.

Overall, the Friend-ME’s exterior is more than we expected, but it does get more and more boring as you move from the front to the rear. Then again, this is only a concept, so we can’t put too much stock in its design.

Interior

On the inside, the Friend-ME is basically what you would expect from a super-modern concept car. It is way over the top with gadgets and gizmos, and it looks like something ripped straight out of a future-based movie.

The front and rear seats are all of the bucket variety, so everyone sits comfortably with plenty of elbow room to spare. The cabin is slathered in black and white coloring that at first glance is kind of cool, but after looking at the image too long, it becomes slightly blinding. The center console is superbly clean only because it is nearly all taken up by a touchscreen interface that like control just about every feature in the car.

What’s really cool is that everyone in the cabin is treated equally. Everyone in the cabin has access to all of the pertinent information, like navigation, speed and fuel level. Additionally, if the driver happens to be a Taylor Swift fan and you fancy a little Metallica, don’t fret, as the passengers have the ability to inject their own tastes into the audio system.

Strangely enough, the “Friend-ME” name has no tie in with any of the social media sites on the Internet; go figure…

Drivetrain

As we figured, the engine was a bit of an afterthought with the Friend-ME concept. All Nissan let us know is that the engine is a “modest 2.0-liter,” whatever that means. We assume it is in the 150-horsepower range and isn’t anything worthy of a mention.

Nissan dis let us know that it envisions a PureDrive hybrid powertrain for the Friend-ME concept, so we may see this powertrain debut in a revised version of this concept in the future.

Pricing and Release

With this only being a concept model for now, there is no information on pricing or a release date, nor do we expect one any time soon. The Friend-ME concept will likely only see use as a future-design model that will lend various styling and technology cues to other production models.

Competition

Well, this is a concept that looks like it belongs somewhere near the year 2025 or 2030, so laying down competition is nearly impossible. Okay, we’ll be blunt, it is impossible. Maybe future versions of the concept will have some competition, but this version does not.

Conclusion

It is what it is: a concept. It is over the top and super modern, so to expect it to ever hit production is ludicrous. However, as a concept, it looks pretty sexy from the front, but then it slowly becomes duller as you reach the backside. It’s almost like two different designers were working on the front and rear ends. The interior is insanely modern and we will likely not see anything nearing this technology level for at least another decade. But it is a cool idea.