Nissan has challenged convention with the launch of the world’s first seven-seater bobsleigh in Innsbruck, Austria. The X-Trail Bobsleigh was inspired by the design of the Nissan X-Trail and undertook its inaugural run at the historic Olympic track in Igls, piloted by British Olympic medallist Sean Olsson. Nissan worked with bobsleigh experts to transform a traditional four-man sled into an X-Trail inspired seven-seater capable of reaching speeds of over 96km/h pulling a G-force of 4.5G.

The bobsleigh features a distinctive front aspect, headlights and seven-seater option. It gives passengers a 360-degree, bird’s-eye view to capture all of the action. Darryl Scriven, Design Manager Nissan Design Europe, teamed up with expert bobsled manufacturer Diego Menardi and sport expert Ian Richardson to morph car design with Olympic aerodynamics.

Nissan Design Europe took inspiration from the shape and character of the X-Trail to create the X-Trail Bobsleigh, which was handcrafted by Diego Menardi at his workshop in Cortina. The seven-seater was developed using sketches and computer-aided design. The detail on the bobsleigh nose was crafted to express the X-Trail’s grille and capture the sculpture of the hood character lines. This work was complemented by Diego Menardi’s structural lengthening of the cabin to accommodate seven passengers.