Ever since Nissan announced they were bringing the next generation of their awesome little Scion spanker, the Cube, to the US, I've been periodically scanning the Japanese car web for spy shots. Japan's auto spy photographers must be a timid, manufacturer ass-kissing bunch, because I've found jack.
But now thanks to a commenter at Cars.com's Kicking Tires blog ["Dads Drool Over Wagons", thanks for the mention, David], we may have our first, leaked promotional photo clue. The result looks more Companion Cube than Nissan Cube.
The JDM fanbois at 7tune have a photo of the new K12 Cube scanned from the Japanese magazine Corism on the Japanese car site Corism snapped at Nissan's big GT 2012 presentation, only they call it a 2008 model. The car's definitely launching domestically first, but it's already 2009 in the factories, isn't it?
I'll give them this much: it does look different from the last Cube we saw in the US, the Denki Cube, the electricity-themed model life extender that turned up at the NY Auto Show last spring.
2008 Nissan Cube (Z12) [7tune.com via cars.com]
WOW! I'm not normally a Nissan fan, but if this version of the Cube hits the US, I might have found the next Teufel'sWagen!
Should look good in all black, with the black interior.
Wow, it's cool. Like what you'd imagine the second generation Scion xB should have looked like.
Wow, I like it. But Nissan teased me with its Gobi truck back in high school, then the thing never materialized beyond concept. I'll keep an eye out for this one, though.
Hey I wouldn't call 7tune a "fanboi" site, it's one of the few places on the net that is free of the usual JDM fanboy crap... it's why I frequent there. Although the guys who write the article all live in Japan as far as I know.
Also, Corism isn't a magazine, it's a website, and that pic of the upcoming Cube isn't from a magazine, it's an actual photo of the presentation at the Nissan 2012 meeting they had a few months back.
Just letting you know :)