Nissan Leaf NISMO RC electric racer

Here's a video produced by Nissan showing the Leaf NISMO RC electric racer on the track.

The video shows the EV race car conducting some testing at the Sodegaura Forest Raceway as Nissan officials explain their concepts for the car.

Manaki Iwamoto of Nissan Motorsports International raises the interesting prospect of what electric racers can do that current race cars can't: indoor racing or races on city streets where noise and emissions would not be a problem.

Iwamoto also explains how in converting the Leaf into a race car the team tried to keep as many design cues as possible from the production Nissan Leaf, but had to make some radical changes. The power train on the test model became a mid-mounted set-up, while the vehicle's body shape was made wider, lower and longer. The racer also makes extensive use of carbon-fiber to lower the curb weight of the vehicle.

The Leaf NISMO RC features an 80 kW (107 bhp / 109 PS) electric motor (AC synchronous) with 280 Nm (207 lb-ft) of torque. The 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint takes just 6.85 seconds and top speed is 150 km/h (93 mph).