Nissan ZEOD RC – the electric car that’s gunning for Le Mans glory
It looks like a Space Shuttle, and it goes like lightning – Nissan's follow-up to the DeltaWing
Nissan has taken the wraps off the battery powered car it plans to run at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2014 – and it looks like something NASA would use to shuttle astronauts around a moon base.
While last year’s entry, the DeltaWing, was an open-top, stealthy black affair, the ZEOD RC (which stands for Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car) bears little resemblance to its predecessor. In fact, Nissan told Stuff at a secret pre-launch event that not a single panel is the same.
185mph monster
Underneath it uses the same lithium battery tech found in the Nissan Leaf, although unlike the Leaf it’ll be able to hit speeds of over 185mph. No Leaf owner needs to get to the shops that quickly.
2014 might seem a long way away but the ZEOD RC is still a long way from being ready to race. Nissan is yet to decide exactly what kind of powertrain it’ll use and the model we saw had stickers where its lights should be.
While it won’t be classified during the 2014 race, its performance will be analysed and assessed to determine where the future of electric racing and road cars might be, with the resulting tech likely to make its way into the Leaf’s successor one day. Hopefully with the personal spaceship aesthetic intact.
Tom Wiggins
Contributor 
