Electrification has begun to seep into motor racing, and for some particular races, an EV presents genuine advantages over an internal-combustion-powered vehicle – Pikes Peak, for instance. There’s even an all-electric series called Formula E, which is already stirring up a bit of interest.
However, even the classic forms of motorsport have been affected, and the 2014 Le Mans race will be featuring an entry from Nissan, which is preparing its electrified race car as we speak – they are set to reveal it on June 21.
We say electrified, because it’s the word Nissan uses in its recently-uploaded video teaser, letting us know that it will feature electric power, but not specifying what type of system will be used (“classic” hybrid, all-electric, even a range extender could be made to work).
It would be nice if it was pure-electric, but Le Mans is all about the range too, and unless Nissan has developed a super-advanced battery that they have told nobody about, it seems pretty difficult to pull off. Still, the teaser video does at one point show the ZEOD logo – the first two letters of this acronym stand for “Zero Emissions,” so it may very well be an EV after all. One thing is certain, we will know for sure on June 21.
Also, if the DeltaWing is anything to go by, this should look pretty radical too.
By Andrei Nedelea
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