Car Reviews > Nissan > Leaf Nismo > Nissan Leaf Nismo Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Prices: £500,000 (estimated)
Engine: 80 kW AC electric motor
Gearbox: Single-speed gearbox
Power/torque: 107bhp/ 280Nm
0-62 mph: 6.8 seconds
Top Speed: 93 miles per hour Range: 100 miles (estimated)
Equipment: LED lights, full roll cage, 18-inch rating wheels, 6-point racing harness, electric power steering, regenerative braking, data logging system

This Nissan racer is an attempt to start an all-electric revolution

The Nissan Leaf Nismo is by no means the first all-electric racing car ever devised, but it does bear the honour of being the first such electric racing car to be based around a production vehicle. It also gives a surprising look at just what a battery-powered sports car that has been mass-produced might look like.

The Nismo does bear what might be described as a family resemblance to none other than the Leaf hatch, mainly due to the blue logos, pearlescent white paint, and the appearance of the LED lights on both the front and the rear, and yet this is no mere copy by any means, with some very drastically different dimensions on offer. For a start, the wheelbase is no more than 9.9 centimetres shorter than the one on the ordinary 5-door, while the vehicle is also 35 centimetres lower and 17 centimetres greater in width. The end result of this is that in terms of dimensions at least, the Nismo also bears a certain resemblance to the Le Mans racer.

Underneath the outer shell of the vehicle, a carbon fibre safety cell is used to enclose both the passenger and drivers seats and the 192 lithium-ion battery cells. The motor is pretty much identical to the one used by the production Leaf, and yet somehow feels even more responsive than ever here.

Racing drivers may not be exactly overly excited by the notion of a motor with a bhp rating of 107 sitting in a car that weighs no less than 938 kilograms, and yet there is something unique about the Nissan Leaf Nismo. The lack of a normal engine noise feels somewhat strange, at least to begin with, but it also gives it the illusion that it is even quicker than it actually is.

The racing tyres offer very strong grip and the steering is as sharp as a pin, meaning that it is enormous fun to drive this car at very fast speeds. According to the engineers at Nissan, the batteries should last for no less than 20 minutes while driving on a track.

In terms of performance, the Nissan Leaf Nismo does not change any of the rules of the game in any way. In terms of showing us what an electric race series, or a sporty production model for that matter, could be like however, it definitely does open up at least some of those rules for serious questioning. At the end of the day, the Nissan Leaf Nismo achieves what it sets out to achieve – both to look wonderful and have all the reactions one would expect from a fully-fledged competition car, yet also to push the envelope in terms of just how far the technology of today can be made to go. While there remain inevitable limits to the batteries, range, and power available for any kind of electric car in the world today, projects such as the Nissan Leaf Nismo are important steps towards seeing just how far electric cars might be able to travel at some time in the future

by Autoweb