A couple of weeks ago, Nissan revealed its intention
to uncover a new concept car at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, and now we learn
that it’s named the IMQ. In the short press release, the company says that it “gives a sneak
peek as to what might be in your future driveway”, which, naturally, gives us
almost nothing to work with.
If we were to guess, we’d say that it could be a
future electric crossover, perhaps something in the vein of VW’s I.D. and
Mercedes’ EQ models. The IMQ moniker was secured by Nissan with the European
Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) late last year. ‘IM’ is short for
‘Intelligent Mobility’, but we don’t know what the ‘Q’ stands for.
Along with the IMQ nameplate, the carmaker also
trademarked the IMS moniker. The latter was unveiled last month at the 2019
Detroit Auto Show as an “elevated sports sedan” with two electric motors that
offer a combined output of 490 PS and 799 Nm of
torque, and a 115 kWh battery.
Another possibility is that this concept, which we
presume will be tamer than the sketches released by Nissan, previews the design
language adopted by the second-generation Juke. The subcompact crossover is
already in testing phase and will be underpinned by the CMF-B platform shared
with the Renault Clio V. Nissan is expected to drop the veil off the 2020 Juke
before the end of the year.
The new Juke will, according to recent reports,
continue to challenge the Peugeot 2008, Opel/Vauxhall Mokka X and others with
the usual small petrol engines and the 1.5-liter dCi diesel. A fully electric
model is on the table, too, to combat the likes of the the Hyundai Kona EV.
Despite being based on a new architecture and
boasting lots of modern tech, the second-gen Juke will keep its predecessors’
unique overall demeanor, especially its highly distinctive front end and flared
wheel arches, albeit in a more up-to-date iteration.
