Three Rowers and a Note Boat: Nissan's New Small Car is Launched in England

• Nissan creates waves at a media event in England with a specially adapted Note Boat
• Provides a visual demonstration of Note's exciting technologies with help from rowers Helen Glover, Sophie Hosking and Polly Swann
• Nissan has already received 3,860 orders for the new B-sector rival 

DORNEY, Buckinghamshire, England – Nissan has launched the new Note - literally. To mark the start of sales of its new B-segment car in Europe, Nissan recently held a media event at Eton Dorney Lake near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire in England. To demonstrate the Note's new technology, Nissan created a Note Boat, which was "driven" at the 2012 Olympic venue by three superstar Olympic rowers.

A very graphic and entertaining way of showing off the new Note's technology, the Note Boat has been specially adapted allowing it to be rowed at the 2012 Olympic venue.

Just like the road-going version, it features a sliding rear seat - in this case a single stroke seat for a rower - while the rear doors open to almost 90 degrees. This set up allowed the addition of a pair of oars that can move through an entire rowing stroke.

But how do you see where you're going when you have your back to the lake? And how do you keep in your lane? That's where the Note's Around View Monitor 360-degree parking system and Safety Shield technology come in.

Just like the road car, it features four cameras - one in the front, one at the rear and one under each door mirror - to give a helicopter-style, top-down view. In addition, the Note Boat (like the Note road car) uses its rear view camera to give Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Warning and Moving Object Detection.

In the Note Boat, these systems combine to allow the rowers to see where they are going without looking behind them - and also stay in their lane. Think of the system as a virtual cox.

So who better to test the Note Boat than three Olympic rowers? Thanks to Nissan's sponsorship of Team GB and ParalympicsGB, some very special guests joined media at Eton Dorney Lake: 2012 gold medalists Helen Glover MBE and Sophie Hosking MBE, who triumphed in the women's coxless pairs and the lightweight double sculls respectively; and Polly Swann, who partnered with Glover at the 2013 World Rowing Championships scoring a victory the women's coxless pairs.

Helen Glover said: "I wish I could have a camera system like this in some of my races - it certainly would make seeing where my rivals a bit easier!"

Polly Swann added: "It's certainly a novel experience rowing down Eton Dorney Lake in a car. I'm amazed at how wide the doors open. I could achieve almost a complete rowing stroke, which produced more than enough power to push the Note down the lake."

Nissan has exciting plans for the Note Boat in future. As for the road-going Note, European deliveries started on October 1, and the B-segment rival has already proved a huge success with some 3,860 cars ordered.

About Nissan in the UK

• Nissan Sunderland Plant produces the Nissan Qashqai, Note and Juke and the 100% electric Nissan LEAF
• Production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles began last year, 2012
• Total plant volume since 1986 stands at more than seven million units with 85 percent of production exported to 104 markets worldwide
• Total investment made and announced since then is £3.5 billion
• 510,572 units were produced at Sunderland plant in 2012, a plant record
• Sunderland Plant currently employs 6,000 people
• Nissan's European Design Centre is located in Paddington, London and employs around 50 people
• Nissan's European Technical Centre is based in Cranfield, Bedfordshire and employs around 500 people

About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 14,500 staff across locally based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 695,000 vehicles including mini-MPVs, award-winning crossovers, SUVs and commercial vehicles. Nissan now offers 24 diverse and innovative products for sale in Europe today, and is positioned to become the number one Asian brand in Europe.

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