Recall the radically rocket-shaped DeltaWing race car that resulted in a long and complicated legal dispute between Nissan and Panoz over the design and who owns it. Nissan’s BladeGlider concept and now prototype is just that, sorta, but for the road. And it’s the most interesting Nissan in a long time.
First shown in concept form at the Tokyo Auto Show in the far back time of 2013, Nissan has said that it might put the BladeGlider into production. Might. Seeing this concept today leaves me tremendously hopeful.
Nissan says that the zero-emissions working prototype helps continue its vision of creating a sleek electric vehicle that would shake up traditional automotive aesthetics. This is good news because the only other EV the Japanese automaker quietly produces, the Leaf, is anything but sleek.
The prototypes have sweet rear-hinged dihedral doors and an open roof. And a three seat design—think McLaren F1. Power comes from a five module lithium-ion 220kW battery and drives the rear wheels. Stats are as follows:
The BladeGlider also has torque vectoring and comes with three settings: off, agile and drift mode, for when you want to perform the Electric Slide. (Sorry, I had to.)
As suggested by its name, Nissan prioritized aerodynamics in the design of the body. Inside, you’ll find four point safety harnesses for each of the three seats.
The prototypes will meet the world in Rio de Janeiro in this month, just in time to catch the tail end of the shitstorm leading up to the Rio Olympics.
All I can say to you, Nissan, is build it, please. People will buy it.