Nissan has given us a preview of its innovative entrant for next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours – an electric racecar capable of clocking 300 km/h.
The Nissan ZEOD RC (Zero Emissions On Demand Racing Car) adopts a design similar to that of the firm’s arrow-shaped DeltaWing and will be run under the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) “Garage 56” banner – a class intended for technologically innovative Le Mans entrants.
It will be the first ever all-electric racing car to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours when it takes to the grid next year.
Nissan has not revealed anything concrete regarding the electric powertrain at the heart of this car, but it claims that the ZEOD RC will be capable of doing 300 km/h.
“The ZEOD RC program is designed to develop multiple technologies to evaluate how they could be used for a future LM P1 class return of Nissan at the Le Mans 24 Hour. There are multiple options we are investigating. A Zero Emission on Demand option where the driver can switch between electric and petrol-powered drive is a future direction for road cars, so that will be tested in addition to pure electric power and other new technologies that we still have under development.” said Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President and Executive Committee member at Nissan Motor Company Limited.
“As no other manufacturer is using electric battery technology in endurance racing today, Nissan is innovating again and this will provide us with significant amounts of data and information to evaluate potential powertrains for future sportscar programs and allow us to continue as the leader in Zero Emissions technology on the road.”
