Nissan Brings Star Wars to L.A. with Six Wild-Looking Concept Cars

TopSpeed

By Ciprian Florea

Published Nov 29, 2017

Would you go to war in a flying Nissan?

The Los Angeles Auto Show is the perfect occasion for carmakers to launch their late-in-the-year models for the U.S. market, but Nissan decided to go with something different in 2017. Having signed a collaboration with Lucasfilm for the upcoming "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" movie, the Japanese automaker unveiled no fewer than six Star Wars-themed concept cars. Each of them is based on characters and crafts from the upcoming film, set to debut on December 15, and are built around Nissan's most popular models in the U.S., the Rogue, Rogue Sport, Altima, and Maxima.

The vehicles were developed at the Lucasfilm studios, where artists penned everything from the design, colors, textures, and graphics, all inspired by the Star Wars franchise. The sketches were then brought to life using hydro-dipped graphics and aged exterior design to show simulated use in battle. Don't worry; you won't be seeing any flying Nissans in the movie, but also don't expect any of these concepts to make it into production. Let's have a closer look at each of them below.

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Nissan Altima Special Forces TIE Fighter

The first car on the list is based on the strike fighter used by the First Order's elite pilots. It features a multi-paned windshield, special wheel covers, all sorts of weapons front and rear, and a custom paint job with an offset red stripe.

Nissan Maxima Kylo Ren

This vehicle looks much more sinister than the previous one, and that's because it was designed to mimic Kylo Ren's black and silver face mark. The V-motion grille was rebuilt from a single block of milled aluminum, while the new lower spoiler appears to be taken off a full-fledged race car. The headlamps have red signature lighting that matches the underbody lighting. Both pulse at random to mimic Kylo Ren's crossguard lightsaber.

Nissan Maxima Kylo Ren's TIE Silencer

Also inspired by Kylo Ren, this sedan is finished in black and equipped with red lighting in the bumper, as well as inside the cabin. It has two massive wings on each side, which are fitted with laser cannons and missile launchers. It also has sound effects pulled directly from the movie, but no video (or audio) is available yet.

Nissan Maxima Captain Phasma

The Captain Phasma sedan sports an interesting livery with a gloss-black upper half and a high-gloss silver lower half, separated by a red stripe. The front end was designed to mimic the mask of the female character and makes the sedan look like an armored vehicle. The six little vents on the lower front doors make for a particularly interesting detail that somewhat reminds me of GTE-spec race cars with side-exiting exhausts pipes.

Nissan Rogue Poe Dameron's X-wing with BB-8

Moving over to crossovers, this Rogue recreates the X-wing that leads the New Republic Starfleet. It has four massive wings, illuminating thrusters, and four laser cannons. On the roof, Nissan added BB-8 astromech droid with functioning lights, motion, and sound. A rugged tire and wheel package complete the look and turns the crossover into a vehicle ready for battle.

Nissan Rogue Sport A-wing

Not as aggressive as the X-wing, the A-wing is closer to the standard-spec Rogue Sport. Just ignore the dual thrusters and the roof-mounted fins, and it looks like a regular crossover with a two-tone paint job with battle scars. However, the illuminated thrusters and the laser cannons mounted on the rear fenders give it a proper Star Wars-inspired look.