Don’t Call It a DeltaWing: Nissan Cribs Innovative Race Car’s Designer to Build Similar Le Mans Entry, Adds Electric Power

The car you're looking at here is not a DeltaWing, the innovative, seemingly physics-defying race car that briefly carried Nissan's name and one of its engines. Instead, the car pictured here is an innovative, seemingly physics-defying race car developed by Nissan. If this smacks of a rip-off, well, it kind of is: Nissan snagged Ben Bowlby, the DeltaWing's designer, to pen its homegrown prototype using the DeltaWing's basic layout. Oh, and the company added some sort of unspecified electric powertrain and promises a return to Le Mans next year under the same "Garage 56" experimental entry parameters that granted the DeltaWing a spot on the endurance race's grid last year. Nissan's latest motorsport decision is especially odd given the company spent the better part of the past 12 months distancing itself from the DeltaWing project before removing its name from the car entirely. To follow that wind-down with a car that looks nearly identical to the one it worked hard to abandon—and designed by the same guy—is a bit of a head-scratcher. Nissan's version of the race car is dubbed ZEOD RC for "Zero Emissions on Demand Race Car," and, unlike the original DeltaWing, features an enclosed cockpit and flatter, less-curvaceous styling. (A coupe variant of the DeltaWing was created last year, but it, too, looked different.) It still looks like an unmentionable adult toy with wheels, and its vaguely described electrification means it now shares its power source with said unmentionable—batteries. Of course, just as sex accouterment cannot race at Le Mans, neither can full electrics—at least not without battery swaps. Furthermore, Nissan quotes designer Bowlby as saying, "a 100 percent battery electric was not suitable for a 24-hour high-speed endurance race." Still, Nissan is describing the prototype as "the world's fastest electric racing car." Funny, Nissan's press release doesn't mention the ZEOD RC could potentially carry an engine. Bowlby hints that the ZEOD RC likely will end up a hybrid with his comment, "we're looking at using electric technology in very different ways. We have a couple of different options we'll be testing, one where we'll switch between electric and petrol power with the push of a button." Bowlby goes on to describe how another key team concern is making sure the platform is flexible enough to allow it to "try multiple different options—even during the same multi-day test." A closer look at the race car's name, specifically, the "On Demand" portion, also implies that the ZEOD RC may not be a full EV all of the time. First Drive: 2013 Nissan Juke NISMO Instrumented Test: 2013 Nissan Sentra SL 1.8 Photos and Info: 2013 Nissan Leaf EV Pushing electric-vehicle boundaries in motorsports is one thing, but we're not sure how close a hybrid comes to the ragged edge, so to speak. Nissan is hoping that the ZEOD RC will put down lap times in the ballpark of the super-high-performance LMP2 and LMP1 cars. But given that many entries in those classes are hybrids, the only thing apparently separating the Nissan is its recycled, bizarre shape. Besides claiming the car can hit 186 mph, Nissan has offered no details regarding the ZEOD RC's powertrain aside from its use of production-derived parts and a lithium-ion battery pack similar to the Leaf NISMO RC race car. The company also says the prototype could be capable of running laps quicker than a Ferrari GT car at Le Mans under electric power alone. We're told to expect more information in the coming months following increased testing of the ZEOD RC, which we look forward to, because, as of now, concrete information is awfully sparse. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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