Controversial Kuraza Concept is Infiniti's New Take on Luxury

"The Kuraza Concept is about hospitality, not transportation," said Kojii Nagano, product design director, Nissan Motor Co.,

"Kuraza, like a beautiful guest room in a fine home, is not designed to be used everyday," said Kojii Nagano, product design director, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

Ltd., who headed the Kuraza design team at the Nissan Technical Center in Atsugi, Japan. "Kuraza, like a beautiful guest room in a fine home, is not designed to be used everyday. It is intended as a social space for six adult friends, such as couples meeting at a resort and heading out together for a special dinner. Therefore it doesn't need all of the usual utility features, including cupholders, excess luggage space, storage compartments and individual DVD monitors."

The seats are two-tone, with rich purple integrated subtly into the seat sides, in between cushions and under the headrests, more of a hint of color rather than an overwhelming sea of hues.

But to eyes untrained to traditional Japanese culture, much of the seats' design language goes unnoticed. The shape of each seatback, for instance, "suggests that of the traditional Japanese kimono - layered, rich, carefully folded," offered Infiniti. "The layers

The shape of each seatback, "suggests that of the traditional Japanese kimono - layered, rich, carefully folded," offered Infiniti. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

of fabric are a reference to traditional 'Juni-hitoe' (12-layer) design, while the Infiniti logo on each seatback resides where a family crest would be found."

Similarly, the "combination of materials, leather for the outer areas and rich, raw silk underneath, suggest the "Uramasari" tradition of fine clothing, in which the inner layers of a garment are more elegant and refined than those on the outer layers," said Infiniti. "The Uramasari philosophy is also applied to fine Japanese jewelry, where an ornate design is applied underneath a less showy outer appearance - again similar to the Kuraza's rich interior and more subtle exterior."