Nissan has unveiled its all-electric entrant into the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour race - the ZEOD RC. The invitation for Nissan's involvement in the 2014 event was received in February: a spot as Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) 'Garage 56' entry. The public area of the Circuit de la Sarthe was the venue for the unveiling, where the ZEOD RC was also named the fastest all-electric racer in the world - attaining a top speed of more than 300km/h.
"The Nissan ZEOD RC is a natural progression that follows on from the development of the Nissan Leaf road car and the Leaf RC race car prototype," comments Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President and Executive Committee member at Nissan Motor Company Limited. The ZEOD RC is the company's new test-bed.
"The technologies developed through the ZEOD RC program will form part of future innovations for Nissan road cars," continues Palmer. "No other manufacturer is using electric battery technology in endurance racing today; and this will provide us with significant amounts of data for future sportscar programs, and will allow us to continue as the leader in Zero Emissions technology on the road."
In addition, Nissan is set to team up with Michelin once again in order to develop the optimum tyre for the ZEOD RC prototype. The two companies previously worked together in 2012 for the Nissan DeltaWing project.
Initial testing of the ZEOD RC will take place this summer in preparation for next year's event. The man behind the project, Ben Bowlby, has recently been appointed as Nissan's Director of Motorsport Innovation; and will ensure that racing fans are kept up to speed with the ZEOD RC's development via YouTube and the NISMO.TV channel.