Nissan's shocking new sports car

New electric concept from Nissan promises affordable performance

By Marco R. della Cava for Yahoo! Autos


The first modern electric car to really catch the attention of enthusiasts was Tesla's Roadster. Back in 2006, PayPal founder turned space-frontier fanatic Elon Musk took the catchy name of fabled electron dabbler Nikola Tesla (no, his machine isn't named after the heavy metal band), gave it a tweaked Lotus Elise body and powered it with laptop batteries on steroids. The result was a lightning strike of a hit, generating breathless reporting about the two-seat roadster's staggering torque and long waiting lists topped by celebrities such as George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fast forward five years. It now looks like the folks at Nissan want to capture some of that glitzy mojo for themselves.



In March, the Japanese automaker plans to unveil its own battery-powered rocket for two at the Geneva Auto Show. News of the so-called Nissan Esflow has already shot around the web, with many of the images and (limited) details provided by the company itself in a clear effort to build awareness of its efforts in the electric car field. The timing couldn't be better. Nissan's four-door electric Leaf starts hitting driveways this spring, and the Esflow is nothing if not a gleaming concept car meant to cast a cool halo over the company's entire range of vehicles. That said, word is Nissan may well consider building the Esflow and is using Geneva as a public-reaction barometer. If that's true, there's a lot to like judging from the images that have been released.

For starters, the Esflow concept, which is anchored to the electric underpinnings of the Leaf, bears a striking resemblance to its gas-powered 370Z stablemate, with perhaps a touch of the old BMW M Couple in its hatchback-like rear haunches and sloped roofline. Up front, a long and wide hood give way to a sharply raked windscreen. Front and rear bumper overhangs are minimal, with the large wheels pushed to the extremities of the car. Although Nissan has not as yet released interior photos, one exterior shot reveals racing style seating more typically found on a Ferrari F430 Challenge Stradale, indicating the sporting intent of this electric steed.

As for just what the Esflow is capable of, Nissan reports that the lithium-ion batteries powering twin rear motors combine for a zero to 60 mph time somewhere around 4 seconds, impressive considering the Tesla astounded with its 3.9 second blast to 60. The Esflow's range is around 150 miles to the charge. That's roughly a third more than what the Leaf is expected to provide, though a bit less than the range of a $100,000 Tesla. The Esflow is rounded out by the usual high-tech car accouterments, from LED lighting and interior LCD screens to an ultra-low profile all-aluminum chassis with an integrated roll bar system. Serious boy-racer stuff for the dawning of an electric-car age. About the only thing this Nissan may need is a better name. Esflow is just one letter too close to E-slow.


source ~ Yahoo! Autos