Students from the Nissan Technical College in Kyoto might have just created the ultimate family car for Nissan lovers. Dubbed the Nissan Z Lealia, the car is actually a modified Nissan Stagea, a station wagon that was produced from the mid-’90s up until 2007.
This means you won’t be finding a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 under the hood. Most likely, there is a modest, 2.5-liter VQ25DD engine powering the Z Lealia instead.
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Speaking of the name, ‘Lealia’ was a title coined by the students who built the car. With the intention of creating a Nissan Z for drivers with families, students at Nissan then came up with a sporty station wagon with an unmatched road presence. This is sure to turn some heads if it ever goes into production. Hence the name ‘Lealia’—‘Lea’ taken from the phrase ‘to lead,’ and ‘lia’ from the Latin word ‘familia’ which translates to family.
The fascia of this Nissan Stagea was taken apart, rebuilt, and then sharpened to resemble the latest Nissan Z. The Z Lealia even got the Fairlady’s grille and its signature coat of paint, ‘Ikazuchi Yellow.’
Inside, the Z Lealia gets a sportier look and feel with a trio of clusters, black and yellow leather seats, and that piercing Z-branded steering wheel. There is actually a variant of the Stagea that comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, but from the looks of it, the students probably went with a family-friendly four-speed automatic.
Over the roof and around the rear, the students actually made use of a Nissan Leaf. Impressively, Nissan’s humble EV was cut around and welded on to the Stagea body, making the car look even more like the RZ34.
Not bad for a school project, huh? And this A+ assignment will be on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon this January, sitting alongside projects from other Nissan students from campuses all over Japan.
