Nissan Fairlady X SUV: Japanese students cross Murano with Z

Nissan has previously flirted with the idea of applying the Z brand to a crossover, but it’s never actually gone ahead and done it properly.

Although it’s still not a proper production car, the Fairlady X is the closest thing yet.

Developed by students at the Nissan Automobile Technical College (NATS) in Kyoto, the Fairlady is what happens when you mix a Z with a Murano.

“We are students of Nissan Kyoto Automobile College. This is a vehicle that we imagined and built with our hands. It will be a vehicle that remodels Murano and resembles Fairlady Z,” the students said on Twitter.

Those headlights and tail lights have been lifted from the Z, as have the grille and rear spoiler, but there’s more to the Fairlady than a nose transplant and butt lift. It has flush-fitting door handles from a GT-R, custom fenders, and wide Rays wheels as well.

It’s not clear what’s powering it just yet, but the Murano packs a naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 engine.

The Z is powered by a version of the VR30DDTT 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine from the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport, making 298kW and 475Nm.

The Fairlady X will be on show at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January.

It’s one of two projects the NATS team is working on. According to its social media, the other is a mashup of a Nissan Fairlady roadster and a second-generation Nissan March.