Nissan Round Box news - Tokyo Madness: Nissan Round Box - 2007

Japanese manufacturers have been busy announcing a whole bunch of crazy concepts in the run-up to the Tokyo motor show at the end of this month. Chief among them is this, the Nissan Round Box concept, or R.D/B.X if you're into txtspk.

We know what you're thinking: boxes can't be round. But that's the whole point! The Round Box is trendy and ground-breaking and aimed firmly at the yoof market - just the sort of buyers that say 'to hell with you and your square boxes, old-timer'.

Sadly, the compact convertible looks a bit, erm, rubbish. Back of the A-pillars, things are tidy enough - a cross between a Smart ForTwo cabrio and that monster W12 Golf GTI that Jeremy drove on Sunday's TGTV, we reckon - but the front end is all wrong: half dodgy Peugeot and half snow-plough.

But maybe we're not yoof enough to appreciate the Round Box. Nissan says the four-seater proves 'exhilaration for all passengers', thanks in part to low-level glass panels that provide a close view of the road surface. And roadkill, presumably.