The SEMA Show in Las Vegas is one of the most popular events for automotive customization enthusiasts. It’s an event where you’ll find every style, every brand (or almost every brand), every budget and every major player in the industry.
While it’s true that some manufacturers won’t be attending the 2022 show, Nissan, a brand that isn’t as strong as some of the others that won’t be there, will be on the floor of the Convention Center in the vice capital.
The two performance stars will of course be the Frontier pickup and the new Z, but Nissan has also thought about electric drive enthusiasts with a very original – and never likely to be approved for production – reinterpretation of the all-new Nissan Ariya.
It’s actually a concept called the Nissan Ariya Surfwagon, the electric crossover that dresses up like the old American station wagons used by California surfers. Well, not surprisingly, the vehicle’s curvaceous body isn’t covered in woodwork, as it’s a vinyl that evokes a bygone era of the American automobile. To add to the surfwagon character, the Ariya is also equipped with 20-inch diameter “smoothie” wheels with polished stainless-steel hubcaps and whitewall tires, a custom roof rack that can accommodate two six-foot surfboards, and a custom lowered suspension.
South Carolina-based Tommy Pike Customs is behind the design.
Nissan Sunny Truck EV | Photo: Nissan
The other electric creation in the Nissan booth comes in the form of a restoration of a Sunny pickup truck that, ironically, is owned by Tommy Pike, the owner of the aforementioned company. The 1987 model year pickup has been converted to electric power using a 40 kWh Nissan LEAF powertrain. The 147 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque aren’t very impressive for the SEMA Show, but it’s still a marked improvement over the model sold in 1987 (twice as powerful and three times as generous in torque).
“I bought the Sunny Truck because I thought it was a very cool piece of Nissan history and heritage, especially when I saw that it was a right-hand drive model […] Taking the unexpected step of converting the Sunny to electric power while wrapping it in the Brock Racing Enterprises livery seemed like the perfect way to pay homage to Nissan’s heritage and modern innovation,” said Tommy Pike.
What’s more, the truck retained its original 56A manual transmission. Other noteworthy modifications include a Skyline “Hakosuka”-inspired body kit, LED lighting conversion, a front suspension conversion from a Nissan 240SX S13, 17-inch Rotiform wheels, and Toyo Extensa tires.
