The world’s electrification of the motor car drives on as companies like Nissan race against time to be first and ahead of the pack in getting rid of the internal combustion engine. For Nissan it began with the LEAF, already on sale in the US and Japan, soon to arrive in Europe. By next year they should have added others, including something based on this concept car, the ESFLOW.
Set for an international debut at the 2011 Geneva International Motor Show next month, the ESFLOW is fully electric. No hybrids here. It runs on laminated lithium-ion batteries (basically the same system as the LEAF but a little jazzed up for performance) which two motors on each wheel, meaning each wheel is driven independently and not off the same axle as what normal rear-wheel-drive cars are.
No power figures have been supplied so far but performance is said to be an inspiring sub-5 second to 100km/h. They say it will keep going for 240km before needed a fresh bolt of electric power.
While it can’t possibly be accused of being a beauty, the ESFLOW is certainly stunning in a very different way. Stylewise it seems to have combined the new Juke’s front end, old 240 Z side profile with a 370 Z silhouette and a rear end fit for a humpback. Nissan says it was designed as an electric car from the ground-up and not adapted from an existing block. That makes me wonder what’s in the “engine bay” then.
The concept car has no side mirrors but instead uses the services of two small cameras to capture the outside going ons. The two seats are part of the rear bulkhead so they can’t be moved in any direction. To compensate, designers and engineers made the steering wheel and the foot pedals adjustable so as to help driver find his/her perfect driving position.
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