Nissan EV sports car flows into view

Published Feb 10, 2011

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Nissan's Esflow concept, set to debut at Geneva next month, looks like a futuristic interpretation of the current Z car with a few splashes of Corvette Stingray thrown in for good measure.

Yet the real future is beneath the skin, where Nissan has thrown in a powerful set of electric motors to prove that green motoring can also be fun. Is Nissan planning a rival for the California-built Tesla sports car? Too early to say, as this is strictly a concept, but who would moan if they did?

According to Nissan, the Esflow's EV status does not detract from its fun factor, meaning it handles and performs like a genuine sports car.

Not all pie in the sky, the sports car is based on existing technology that's been implemented in innovative ways. Its composite body stretches over an aluminium chassis, which also incorporates its own roll cage.

Two electric motors sit above the axis of the rear wheels in a mid-ship position, powering each rear wheel independently, while the torque output is optimised to ensure the best possible stability.

Engineers also ensured the best possible weight distribution by placing the car's laminated lithium-ion battery packs along the axis of both the front and rear wheels.

Nissan has not divulged any output figures, but the company does claim that it'll shunt from standstill to 100km/h in less than five seconds and when driven more frugally, it'll achieve a range of 240km.

Another interesting aspect of this car is the high waistline that allows strong, yet unobtrusive roll bars incorporated into the structure behind the seats to safely take the entire load of the car in the event of a roll over. This negates the need for obtrusive, thick, reinforced A-pillars and the blind spots they inevitably create.

This almost unobstructed view ahead will not be unfamiliar to fighter pilots, says Nissan. "The driver must be at the centre of the sports car both physically and metaphorically."

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