Nissan flexes its electric muscle
We drive Nissan’s Leaf racer, a (very fast) rolling test bed for its high-performance electric powertrain and control systems.
In slippery conditions the Nismo RC claws its way rapidly and securely out of corners without fuss
Who said electric cars were boring? I’m sitting in the carbonfibre interior of the Leaf Nismo RC_02 in Valencia, a 317bhp all-electric racing car designed as a test bed for future EV products from Nissan. It uses the same battery and motors as a roadgoing Leaf, except crucially the Nismo has two motors where the road car has one.
In the cockpit, the only recognisably Leaf-based component is the starter button. It looks lost in this woven sea of black and grey composites, punctuated by the bright red four-point harness and weapons-grade steering wheel.
Although the RC_02 hasn’t been built to compete in a race series, there’s a serious racing car structure here. The RC_02 nd is based around a carbonfibre monocoque with reinforced rollcage. Suspension is pushrod double wishbone all-round.
It’s 25 per cent lighter than the steel structure used in 2011’s first Leaf Nismo RC, but overall the car is 33 per cent heavier than the single-motor, rear-drive original.
The RC_02 boasts more than twice the power (317bhp) and torque (472lb ft) of its predecessor, but because it pre-dates the punchier e+ version it uses the EM57 motors from a regular Leaf; one on each axle, and each with its own single-ratio gearbox and limited-slip differential. A 3.4sec 0-62mph time and a top speed of 137mph isn’t shabby, especially when it’s accompanied by such responsive handling. Nissan says the RC_02 is 5.5 seconds faster around the Sodegaura Forest Raceway in Japan than the first-generation car.
Easing out onto a soaking wet Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the eerie quiet of the Leaf e+ road car I drove a few minutes ago is replaced by shattering drivetrain whine. With no engine to spare its blushes, the racket is comically loud. Handsome it might be, but this racer has the vocal grace of a copulating fox.
No matter, though, as its prowess on track is impressive. There are a couple of switchable maps controlling both the front/rear torque split and power output. We’re in the ‘safest’ mode, giving a 50/50 split and allowing the Nismo to claw its way rapidly and securely out of corners with little fuss.
Power delivery is instant but not mind-blowingly punchy (largely owing to the conservative map), yet there’s more than enough grunt to show off the taut and balanced chassis.
Nissan stresses that there’s ‘always a line of innovation for our racing endeavours, it’s never racing for racing’s sake’. What’s more, the transfer of knowledge goes both ways, with your EV family runabout doing its fair share. For example, data from 2.5 billion miles driven by Leaf customers goes into racing software, including that seen in Nissan’s Formula E racer. So, next time you waft past a regular Leaf silently going about its business, think of the racing expertise that it’s both absorbed and generated.