Company Number: LP003328 Registered Office: Academic House, 24-28 Oval Road, London, NW1 7DT. There’s no denying Shiro Nakamura has done a stellar job at Nissan since Patrick le Quement nominated him to the top job back in 1999. No doubt he'll also pick up some juicy design consultancies. They include the cartoonish but globally successful Juke. Taking over Albaisa's old seat at Infiniti will be Karim Habib, who was the chief designer for BMW between 2012 and 2017. VAT no 918 5617 01 Nissan news, reviews, comparisons and video. As Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of Nissan Motor Company, Shiro Nakamura manages the global design strategies across both Nissan and INFINITI, leading a team of more than 800 people worldwide. Depending on his mood, the chief creative officer for Nissan and … I've always admired Nakamura. Shiro loves London. Yokohama –May 26- (NMC) For Nissan's design chief, there are reflective moments as well as inspiring ones. The likeable 66-year-old is in many ways an old-school car designer: modest, gracious and good mannered, invariably elegantly attired in fine suit and tie. When he searched for a location for his European design HQ, he chose a former British Rail maintenance depot in Paddington. He transformed them from lumpy eyesores into stylish alternatives to European and Japanese cars. Nakamura joined Nissan in 1999 from Isuzu, where he helped bring the VehiCross into production. He was once widely regarded as the antichrist of car couture as he 'flame surfaced' previously genteel and graceful BMW saloons. Nakamura holds degrees from both the Musashino Art University in Tokyo and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. It can't be a coincidence that the two most successful Nissans of the past decade, the Qashqai and Juke, were both Paddington proposals. The Grand Prix du Design was bestowed upon Shiro Nakamura by a jury comprised of leading lights from the worlds of French media, commerce and design. At the beginning of his career, Nakamura was influenced by Ferrari and General Motors’ Corvette Sting Ray in the 1960s, which he says was one of the best times of car design in history. Shiro Nakamura plays the bass and the cello, and leadinga band that performs in various jazz clubs around Tokyo. When he returned to Japan in 1997, he was promoted to be the head of design for Isuzu, a position he held for two years. Prior to Nissan, he worked at Isuzu, where he designed the Gemini and ultra-futuristic Vehi-Cross. The interview wasn’t about a particular car but about the way Nakamura designs. Nissan’s chief designer, Shiro Nakamura, who styled hugely significant cars including the GT-R, Qashqai, 350Z, Juke, Leaf and Cube, retired in March after 17 years with the manufacturer. I had dinner with Nakamura in Tokyo a few days after his retirement was announced. Nearly 18 years later, Nakamura is now retiring, having helped make "crossover" a household word and transforming Nissan and all of Japanese design in process. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are shown as Manufacturer's Recommended List Price (MRLP) inclusive of GST, exclusive of options and on road costs. In 
retrospect we see he modernised BMW design and is probably the most influential car designer of this century, pioneering the 'surface entertainment' now common from Mitsubishi to Mercedes. Contributor-in-chief, former editor, anti-weight campaigner, voice of experience, Bauer Media Group consists of: Bauer Consumer Media Ltd, Company number: 01176085, Bauer Radio Ltd, Company Number: 1394141 He was lured across by the company's newly installed CEO, Carlos Ghosn, who had a wide remit to turn around the then struggling car maker. He is also interestedin vintage cars and making violins. At the 2011 Los Angeles auto show we talked with Chief Creative Officer Shiro Nakamura for Nissan and Infiniti. There's the influential Qashqai that pioneered the modern mid-sized crossover. What part of the car does Nakamura start on when he designs a car? Nissan remains the only major car company with a large London studio, the only auto company to benefit, day-by-day, from the cultural richness and stimulation of Western Europe's biggest, most vibrant and most diverse city. Nissan ’s chief designer, Shiro Nakamura, who styled hugely significant cars including the GT-R, Qashqai, 350Z, Juke, Leaf and Cube, retired in March after 17 years with the manufacturer. Shiro Nakamura in a 2011 interview on his book called “Stories on Shapes of Japanese Cars”. Shiro Nakamura is a former Japanese car designer and company executive. By ... we managed to secure a few minutes in the company of Infiniti’s design guru Shiro Nakamura and picked his … He is nicknamed "Fingers" by his colleagues as he has a reputation for being hands-on. The inclusion of Patrick Le Quément, the visionary ex-Renault design director, is obvious. He was immediately appointed as the company's head of design, and given the task of transforming Nissan range of predominately boxy, bland and uninspiring vehicles. CAR recently had a one-to-one with Shiro Nakamura, design director for Nissan and Infiniti. Shiro retired from Nissan at the end of March and will now have more time playing bass in his jazz band and making violins, a hobby. He was Chief Creative Officer of Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun. Other past winners include Giorgetto Giugiaro and the late Sergio Pininfarina. 'I wanted to elevate the role of design within Nissan and within Japanese car companies,' he told me. We find Tom Gale, creator of so many daring '90s Chryslers including the Dodge Viper, and Peter Schreyer, the most important German car designer of the past decade. After 17 years of penning some of Nissan's most memorable cars, Shiro Nakamura, Nissan's maestro for pursuing cutting edge styling will retire. Rather, what I admire is the astonishing variety and boldness of these Shiro-era cars. I particularly liked the Pivo 2 electric runabout. The growing market is already the largest in the world and on its way to surpassing the US market in terms of luxury car sales. Nakamura served as Senior Vice President of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. From 2006, Nakamura had been Nissans Chief Creative Officer. BEST TIMES. Many have defined sectors and changed the car industry. Ghosn's headhunters came calling on Shiro Nakamura, head of design at Isuzu Motors Ltd., to oversee a new era of Nissan global design. The Grand Prix du Design was bestowed upon Shiro Nakamura by a jury comprised of prominent figures from the worlds of French media, commerce and design. Only one Japanese designer has won the award, Nissan's Shiro Nakamura. We dined with Patrick Le Quément, who recommended Nakamura to Ghosn as the man who could revolutionise Nissan design. The EyesOn Design lifetime achievement award is probably the most coveted prize for car designers. Interview with Shiro Nakamura on car design and the new Q50 – video. However, an Infiniti flagship would not reach the market before 2017. H Bauer Publishing are authorised and regulated for credit broking by the FCA (Ref No. During the 12th Auto Expo, I had the pleasure of meeting Shiro Nakamura san – the man behind the design of the legendary GT-R. Now when you look at the latest tangle-of-angle Lexus SUVs, over-ornate new Hondas and fussily styled Toyotas, it is perhaps no surprise that Japanese winners are rare (although Mazda's design chief Ikuo Maeda is doing great work). Winners include Marcello Gandini, former chief designer of Bertone and of the Lamborghini Miura and Countach, and Bruno Sacco, the great Mercedes-Benz design classicist. 'Carlos Ghosn understood the importance of design.'. Known as a hands-on creative, he goes by the nickname Fingers. All registered in England and Wales. The crossover, along with the 350Z sports car he also presided over, helped establish Nissan's design language of the 2000s. Nissan design supremo Shiro Nakamura retires, former BMW head designer goes to Infiniti, Video: 2021 Nissan Navara PRO 4X walkaround, Video: Best ute 2020 comparison: Isuzu D-Max v Mazda BT-50 v Toyota HiLux v Ford Ranger v Mitsubishi Triton v Nissan Navara v VW Amarok vs LDV T60 Trailrider, Video: 2021 Porsche Cayman 718 GT4 Review, Video: 2021 Toyota Yaris gets five-star safety. Albaisa … Shiro Nakamura, chief creative officer at Nissan, has retired as part of a sweeping set of boardroom changes at the Japanese automaker, including the departure of CEO Carlos Ghosn. He was lured across by the company's newly installed CEO, Carlos Ghosn, who had a wide remit to turn around the then struggling car maker. Nakamura joined Nissan in 1999, has been senior vice president of design since 2001, and added the title of chief creative office in 2006. His design revolution at the company began to bear production fruit in 2002 when the company launched the bold 350Z and the first-generation Murano crossover. Unlike most auto design prizes, it is not adjudicated by design commentators, journalists or critics. Above: 2003 Nissan 350Z Roadster. The cars … He'll get to play his cello more, too. 1951) is a Japanese industrial designer. In 2010, he was ranked by Fast Company in their list of The 100 … Shiro Nakamura has been the Nissan Design Chief for 11 years, and on March 31, that will come to end. It was Schreyer who made Kias and Hyundais desirable. But that job now entails a whole new list of responsibilities, not least of which is the integration of user friendly HMI and the impending arrival of autonomous cars. He went back to California to be the head of product planning and design. 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