Nissan Newbird Is A One-Off Bluebird With An Electric Powertrain

Nissan is celebrating 35 years of production at the Sunderland plant in the UK. To commemorate this occasion the Japanese automaker created a one-off electromod out of the UK-built Bluebird, calling it the Newbird.

From the outside, the Nissan Newbird looks just like one of the 187,178 units of the Bluebird that came out of the Sunderland factory between 1986 and 1990. The only differences are the lack of exhaust pipes, the Newbird badge, some fancy striping on the bodywork, and the illuminated Nissan emblem on the grille.

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Despite the visual similarities with the Bluebird, big changes are hiding underneath the arguably bland bodywork of the Newbird as you might have guessed already. That’s right, the engine and gearbox have been replaced by a modern and fully electric powertrain borrowed from the second-generation Nissan Leaf.

The conversion was undertaken by the Durham-based Kinghorn Electric Vehicles and included a second-life e-motor, inverter, and 40kWh battery pack split between the engine bay and the boot for better weight distribution.

Thanks to all that, the Newbird can accelerate from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in less than 15 seconds, while the driving range is estimated to be around 130 miles (209 km) between charges. Those figures are significantly worse than the production-spec Leaf but good enough for a brick-shaped vehicle with used EV components.

The charging port is located below the fuel cap. The Leaf’s battery is charging at up to 6.6 kW.

In order to support the added weight of the battery pack, the Newbird was fitted with a custom suspension. It also features upgraded power steering, braking, and heating systems that are compatible with the electric powertrain. Another cool detail is that the battery charge status is showcased through the fuel gauge on the original instrument panel.

The one-off conversion was created for show purposes and is not homologated for road use. However, it will be a nice conversation starter at the Sunderland plant, where more than 10.5 million Nissan vehicles have been produced since 1986. Today, the factory employs 6,000 people, up from the 430 workers that started 35 years ago.

The automaker keeps investing in the area, with the announcement of a flagship £1 billion ($1.4 billion) EV Hub earlier this year, alongside Envision AESC’s new battery manufacturing facility which is also located in Sunderland. Nissan will also install an additional 20 MW solar farm that will contribute to renewable energy covering 20% of the plant’s needs, together with the existing 6.6 MW turbines and 4.75 MW solar farm.