Nissan’s debut in the all-electric ABB FIA Formula E Championship has come a step closer, as the Japanese automaker unveils its concept livery for the series
The livery for Nissan’s Formula E program was designed by Nissan’s Global Design team in Japan.
“At first glance the season five Formula E car looked to our design team like an EV-powered supersonic bird in flight,” said Alfonso Albaisa, senior vice president of global design at Nissan Motor Co. “This initial reaction from the team started us on a path that captured a sense of a form breaking free of resistance and gravity. Formula E racers are virtually silent, with explosive speed bursts so we turned to Doppler when designing the livery. The combination of the sonic pulse of the Doppler effect and the released power of a sonic boom inspired our celebration of EV Racing.”
Nissan’s debut Formula E car also features striking new aerodynamics and an entirely new battery and powertrain package which provides more power, more range and eliminates the need for the mid-race car swap which has been used in the first four seasons of the championship. Nissan is working with partner Renault to leverage existing expertise and development, in keeping with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi partnership’s focus on collaboration and maximizing synergies. Additional details, including structure and drivers, will be announced later.
“Nissan is bringing a lot to the table with our expertise in EV technology for the road and bringing it to the race track, said Nissan global motorsport director, Michael Carcamo. “The level of competition in the Formula E championship is on the rise and we’re eagerly awaiting the unique engineering challenge ahead. We’re entering the championship on a level playing field this year with every manufacturer competing with a brand-new car, battery and powertrain combination from season five.”
“Nissan is proud to be an innovator in electric vehicles on the road with the Nissan LEAF completing more than four billion zero-emission kilometres around the world. Now, we want to bring that EV expertise to motorsport,” said Nissan Motor Co. chief performance officer Jose Munoz.
The car maker sees Formula E races as a good opportunity to showcase Nissan Intelligent Mobility, its strategy for redefining how its vehicles are driven, powered and integrated into society.
Season five of the ABB FIA Formula E championship is expected to visit major international cities, among them Hong Kong, Berlin, Zurich, Rome and New York. The new car is scheduled to race in the Formula E championship for the next three seasons.
