A day before the 90th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nissan/Nismo launched its 2014 challenger, resembling a striking resemblance to the DeltaWing project it was previously involved with.
Called the “ZEOD RC” (Zero Emission On Demand), the race car operates on the same battery electric technology that powers Nissan’s LEAF production car. The company plans to tackle the 2014 24 Hour program as the Garage 56 entry, reserved for vehicles with innovative technologies never before seen on a race car.
Nissan plans to use this next year to test their zero emission system to run the full 24 hours, although it admits it may have to use an electric/gasoline option as current battery storage technology limits the duration it would be able to race.
“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,” says Andy Palmer, Executive VP and Executive Committee member at Nissan Motor Company. “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.”
Nissan hopes the new vehicle will help push the boundaries of sports car racing at Le Mans, with future plans to return to the premier P1 class, where current competitors Audi and Toyota are using various gasoline/electric technologies that are aimed primarily at additional horsepower.
“A large part of our work in the coming months is to discuss with the ACO future opportunities for the ‘electrification’ of the Le Mans rules in the future and work towards delivering appropriate technology,” Palmer says. “Garage 56 is a bold move by the ACO to showcase Innovation and allow testing of untried components and systems for future competition use. To this end they are the most forward thinking promoter in motorsport today.”
The car will utilize Michelin tires similar to the previous Nissan DeltaWing program in 2012, and make it’s track-test debut later this summer.
