It almost sounded like a joke when Nissan and their performance arm, Nismo, announced a while ago they are building an electric race car based on the Deltawing concept. But they’ve done it, and now after eight month of development, the Nissan ZEOD RC is ready for its public debut.
The car unveiled at the Nismo headquarters looks pretty much the same as the prototype revealed at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, but it features revamped styling, new cooling inlets and aerodynamic updates. ZEOD (Zero Emissions on Demand) serves as a test bed to develop new electric vehicle technologies for Nissan’s planned future LM P1 program.
It will also have plenty of publicity work to do. The car will become the first car to complete an entire race lap of the 8.5-mile Le Mans circuit on nothing but electric power. Good news is, it is not going to take very long for it to complete the lap, as the ZEOD RC can reach speeds in excess of 300km/h (185mph) and lap the famous French circuit faster than an LM GTE car.
Power comes from an electric motor with batteries that are charged by regenerative braking system, similar to what powers the LEAF, and a small lightweight turbocharged internal combustion engine. The powertrain is not as revolutionary as the way this thing looks though. You will be able to take a close look at the Nissan ZEOD RC in the Fuji paddock throughout the course of the FIA World Endurance Championship weekend.
“This weekend is an important milestone in the journey to Le Mans for the Nissan ZEOD RC,” Darren Cox said. “Our goal for the program is to draw back the curtain for the fans to see the innovative technology that Nissan is developing. We could not think of a better place than the Fuji round of the World Endurance Championship for the actual ZEOD RC to appear in public for the first time. We have interrupted our intense testing in the UK to fly the car to Japan for this display for the Japanese fans.”
