NISSAN UNVEILS LE MANS PROTOTYPE PLANS WITH WORLD’S FASTEST ELECTRIC RACING CAR
Unique Nissan ZEOD RC is an innovative test bed for electric technologies
- Nissan ZEOD RC will utilise the same lithium battery technology as used in the award-winning Nissan Leaf
- The Nissan ZEOD RC will achieve speeds in excess of 300km/h
- Multiple electric drivetrain technologies to be tested before racing in 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour and assesed for potential in LM P1
- Nissan again at the forefront of Zero Emission and battery technology
LE MANS, France (21 June 2013) – Nissan today unveiled the groundbreaking, innovative ZEOD RC – the world’s fastest electric racing car that will reach speeds of more than 300km/h with electric technology at the Le Mans 24 Hours
The ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car) will make its race debut at next year’s Le Mans 24 Hour. The global leader in electric vehicles for the road, Nissan will trial variants of new electric drive train technologies as part of its intended future return to LM P1 competition to challenge for overall victory at the world’s most prestigious endurance race.
Nissan’s invitation from the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) to compete in the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours was announced by Nissan Chairman and CEO, Carlos Ghosn in Japan in February. The car will compete under the ACO’s ‘Garage 56′ entry – an additional spot on the grid for vehicles that showcase new and innovative technology.
Run as a Nissan / Nismo full factory international program with input from Japan, Europe and the US, the Nissan ZEOD RC design team is headed by Ben Bowlby who has been newly-appointed as Nissan’s Director of Motorsport Innovation and previously worked on the Nissan DeltaWing program in 2012.
While the car will not race until next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, Nissan today kicked off a unique aspect of the program – race fans getting the chance to unveil the car in the public area of the Circuit de la Sarthe. Nissan intends to draw back the curtain for fans across the globe to provide continued updates via its international partnership with YouTube and its Nismo.TV channel.
“Nissan has become a global leader in the development of zero emission automotive technology and the Nissan ZEOD RC will allow us to further develop those capabilities using the toughest endurance race in the world as a mobile test bed to test the potential of our planned LM P1 power train,” said Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President and Executive Committee member at Nissan Motor Company Limited.
“The Nissan ZEOD RC is a natural progression that follows on from the development of the Nissan Leaf road car and the Leaf RC race car prototype. The technologies developed through the ZEOD RC program will form part of future innovations for Nissan road cars.
“Nissan is already a global leader in the sale of all-electric cars and we’re eagerly awaiting the opportunity to showcase the lessons learnt with the development of battery technology in the world’s oldest, toughest and most high profile endurance race.
“The ZEOD RC program is designed to develop multiple technologies to evaluate how they could be used for a future LM P1 class return of Nissan at the Le Mans 24 Hour. There are multiple options we are investigating. A Zero Emission on Demand option where the driver can switch between electric and petrol-powered drive is a future direction for road cars, so that will be tested in addition to pure electric power and other new technologies that we still have under development.
“As no other manufacturer is using electric battery technology in endurance racing today, Nissan is innovating again and this will provide us with significant amounts of data and information to evaluate potential powertrains for future sportscar programs and allow us to continue as the leader in Zero Emissions technology on the road.”
Launched in 2010, the Nissan Leaf has become the world’s best-selling all-electric car. The Leaf won the 2010 Green Car Vision Award, the 2011 European Car of the Year, the 2011 World Car of the Year, and the 2011-2012 Car of the Year Japan.
Nissan launched the Nissan Leaf RC in 2011 – a race car prototype powered by the same 107-hp electric motor that is used in the road car.
While current battery technology does not provide the energy storage capacity to race a solely electric Le Mans prototype, Nissan ZEOD RC designer Ben Bowlby believes the development of the car will be an important step in the “electrification” of the racecars of the future.
“Developing a car like this provides an incredibly challenging test bed for what could be highly-effective options for road cars of the future. Throughout the next twelve months we will be testing multiple drive train options in an extensive test program,” Bowlby said.
“We have many options to consider and test. The test program is part of a longer term goal of developing a system and a set of rules for this type of technology in partnership with the ACO that would be best suited to competing at the highest level of this sport.”
“Nissan is a leader in electric vehicle technology for the road, now we want to take those lessons learnt and utilise that knowledge base in the development of the new race car.
“Our design team on the Nissan ZEOD RC program has concentrated heavily on packaging and aerodynamic efficiency that will not only provide extreme performance but high levels of energy efficiency – the goal for all global automakers.
“A large part of our work in the coming months is to discuss with the ACO future opportunities for the ‘electrification’ of the Le Mans rules in the future and work towards delivering appropriate technology. Garage 56 is a bold move by the ACO to showcase Innovation and allow testing of untried components and systems for future competition use. To this end they are the most forward thinking promoter in Motorsport today.”
Nissan will partner with French tyre manufacturer Michelin to produce tyres for the new prototype. Nissan previously joined forces with Michelin on the Nissan DeltaWing program. The Clermont-Ferrand-based manufacturer has an enviable record at the Le Mans 24 Hour, winning the past 15 consecutive races overall.
The Nissan ZEOD RC will make its testing debut later this summer. Nissan’s assault on the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hour will again target victory in the P2 class with 15 of the 22 entries powered by Nissan. In the opening rounds of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, Nissan has dominated, taking victory at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.
TAKE A LOOK UNDER THE SKIN OF THE NISSAN ZEOD RC
- Unique look at the revolutionary electric prototype
- Crash test video revealed
- Electric lap of Le Mans up next on test day
LONDON – It features thousands of parts, brand new technology, has taken countless hours of design, engineering, construction and testing and now Nissan has revealed what is under the skin of the revolutionary prototype.
With every single component on the car down to the smallest nut and bolt modeled in computer aided design (CAD) technology, Nissan has released a unique image showcasing the inner workings of the car.
The Nissan ZEOD RC will fill Garage 56 at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, an additional entry reserved for new automotive technology never previously seen on track.
The car aims to complete the first all-electric lap of famous 8.5-mile circuit – running in virtual silence down the Mulsanne straight.
In addition to revealing the unique ZEOD “components” image, Nissan has also revealed video from the recent FIA crash test that every Le Mans prototype has to pass prior to competing.
“Our philosophy at Nissan is to really let fans get a behind-the-scenes look as to what it takes to develop the unique technology in the Nissan ZEOD RC,” said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO.
“Most fans don’t get to see what is under the skin of these cars and certainly don’t get the opportunity to see what happens at a crash test. We can’t have everybody in the garage at the race, but through revealing video and images like this and pushing continual updates via NISMO.TV, the fans will feel closer than ever before.
“What we’re trying to achieve is actually quite remarkable. Taking a Le Mans prototype around the full 8.5-mile circuit at Le Mans on nothing but electric power is one thing, but doing it with a top speed of more than 300km/h and completing a lap faster than a GT car is incredible.
“We know it was going to be a very big challenge. We’re pushing battery technology to whole new levels. At Nissan we had a lot of data to refer to from our leadership role in electric vehicles for the road, but it has been a very intense development process.
“We’ve discovered why nobody has attempted this in the past. It has certainly presented plenty of technical challenges but that is why we undertake projects like this. Motorsport compresses the development cycles dramatically; we’re learning new things on a daily basis.”
The Nissan ZEOD RC is powered by two 110kw electric motors that transfer power to the wheels via the same gearbox that is connected to the internal combustion engine.
The car aims to complete a lap of Le Mans on battery power faster than a GT LM category Le Mans entry. The remarkable 400 horsepower, 40 kilogram, 1.5 liter, three-cylinder turbocharged engine will start the race with the electric motors taking over for a final all-electric lap after each fuel stint.
The car’s debut at the Circuit de la Sarthe on the Le Mans Test Day on June 1 will feature GT Academy winner Wolfgang Reip and two-time Le Mans LM P2 winner, Tommy Erdos.
Erdos is stepping in for Lucas Ordóñez and Satashi Motoyama who are on duty in Super GT competition in Japan on the same weekend.
The Le Mans test day will be part of week two of the #eatsleepRACErepeat program where Nissan and NISMO teams, drivers and entrants will tackle 22 events in seven countries over seven weeks.
The unique program was announced on Monday with Nissan also set to make a major announcement about its 2015 plans in London this Friday at 2:00 p.m. local time. The news event featuring Nissan Executive Vice President and Chief Planning Officer, Andy Palmer will be streamed live on NISMO.TV.
TEST DRIVER SELECTED FOR NISSAN ZEOD RC ELECTRIC PROGRAM
naugural Nissan GT Academy winner to be the first to drive Nissan ZEOD
IRVINE, Calif. (August 22, 2013) Nissan’s inaugural “gamer-to-racer” Lucas Ordóñez has been appointed as the official test and development driver of the Nissan ZEOD RC programme – the unique electric race car that will debut at next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
Launched at Le Mans in June this year, the Nissan ZEOD RC will make its race debut at next year’s 24 Hours event. It will hit the track for the first time next month for testing with Spaniard Ordóñez entrusted with the development duties for the car.
The 28-year-old won the inaugural Nissan PlayStation GT Academy competition in 2008 and has gone on to become one of the star Nismo Athletes with Le Mans 24 Hours podiums, a championship win in the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and a third place recently at the Spa 24 Hours for Nissan with an all-gamer line-up of GT Academy graduates.
In addition to racing in this year’s FIA GT Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series, Ordóñez has also made appearances in the World Challenge Series in the US, the Japanese SUPER GT championship and also recently tested a V8 Supercar for the Nissan factory squad in Australia. The appointment of Ordóñez was announced at the Nissan 360 global media event in California.
“It’s unbelievable. After working with Ben Bowlby and the guys developing the Nissan DeltaWing for Petit Le Mans, it’s really amazing to have this great news,” Ordóñez said.
“To work again with this group and to be part of this project for Le Mans is amazing. To actually start from the beginning of the project is just a dream for me. I’m really looking forward to working with the team to develop all the new technology in the ZEOD RC and to develop the car on track. It’s a unique experience. I really like to learn from engineers, learn from teams and learn about new products like this because we get to do so much testing. That’s what I need as a racing driver right now. I’ve been proud of my pace competing against all of the other drivers but now it’s time to go one step higher in my career in developing the ZEOD RC.”
Nissan’s Director of Global Motorsports Darren Cox believes that Ordóñez will make a valuable contribution to the development of the new ground-breaking race car.
“The fact that Lucas didn’t enter the sport the traditional way through karting and junior formulas actually makes him ideally suited for the development role for the Nissan ZEOD RC,” Cox said.
“Lucas was the first to prove that the GT Academy concept works and the succession of Nismo Athletes that have graduated since that time has continued to show the programme is extremely valuable in unearthing and developing new talent. The Nissan ZEOD RC is unlike any racecar previously developed and Lucas doesn’t have 10 or 15 years of pre-conceived ideas as to what a race car should or shouldn’t do.”
“Our goal to ‘electrify Le Mans’ is just the first step in changing the face of motorsport and making it relevant to what we drive on the road and we’re thrilled to have Lucas playing a key role in that process.”
The first chassis for the Nissan ZEOD RC was recently completed and final construction of the unique car is currently underway. When it runs for the first time next month, the ZEOD RC will be in full electric-only mode.
Nissan is testing a number of electric drive-train solutions during the development of the car before locking in the package for next year’s Le Mans endurance classic.
“I was very impressed when I worked with Lucas last year at Petit Le Mans and I’m looking forward to working with him again,” said Ben Bowlby, Nissan’s Director of Motorsport Innovation.
“Maybe it is the fact he was a university student before he entered the GT Academy programme but he had an enormous hunger for information and data and wanted to know more and more about the car. On track he was incredibly smooth and consistent and it really is hard to believe he has only been racing professionally – in fact – racing anything at all – for only five years.”
NISSAN ZEOD RC HITS THE TRACK AT FUJ
- Electric prototype runs at Fuji Speedway for the first time
- Nissan’s Executive Vice-President talks about ZEOD RC
- Nissan-powered teams take top seven LM P2 positions in rain-curtailed FIA WEC race
- Fuji, Japan (Oct. 21, 2013) – Nissan’s revolutionary ZEOD RC electric prototype had its on track debut in Japan last weekend with Michael Krumm at the wheel of the car that will race at next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
The car was unveiled at Nismo headquarters in Yokohama on Thursday and performed three demonstration runs at Fuji Speedway in conjunction with the Japanese round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The Nissan ZEOD RC will complete an entire 8.5 mile lap of Le Mans next year on pure electric power at speeds in excess of 300km/h (186 mph). When running on its internal combustion engine, the ZEOD RC will recharge its battery using regenerative braking.
Key Nissan executives including Executive Vice President Andy Palmer were on site at Fuji to see the car’s debut.
The car will now head back to the UK this week to continue its testing and development program. The Nissan ZEOD RC will occupy “Garage 56” at Le Mans next year – an entry reserved for cars showcasing new and innovative technology previously not seen at the French endurance classic. Nissan will use the ZEOD RC programme to develop technologies for its planned future LM P1 assault.
“This has been a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved to bring the Nissan ZEOD RC to Japan to present the car at Nismo and then show the car at Fuji Speedway for the fans,” Nissan Global Motorsports Director, Darren Cox said.
“The reaction from the fans has been amazing – especially the young fans. We had a very poignant moment watching the car on track with Mount Fuji in the background. We know we have a very big mountain to climb to develop this electric vehicle technology for Le Mans but seeing the reaction from the young fans is a key reason why we are doing this.
“It was a pity that the weather spoiled the day on Sunday for the FIA WEC race but we were thrilled to be able to bring the car here for loyal Japanese fans.”
MICHELIN DESIGNS NISSAN ZEOD RC’S TIRES FOR LE MANS
OYAMA-CHO, Japan – Nissan ZEOD RC’s invitation to participate at Le Mans next year from the Automobile Club de l’Ouest is a tremendous technological development opportunity for the automaker, but also a ready laboratory for next-generation tires, says Michelin Director Serge Grisin.
Michelin makes more than half the tires for vehicles competing at Le Mans, but the Garage 56 status, reserved for cars with new technology, has special allure.
Grisin, speaking with the Global Media Center during the running of the World Endurance Championship at Fuji Speedway, said working with Nissan on the ZEOD project will help the tire maker in developing electric vehicle products and in bringing even better tires to consumers.
Serge Grisin, Director 4 Wheels Racing Division, Michelin:
“For Michelin, this project is really important. We’re a technical leader in the tire industry. Garage 56 is a good way for Michelin to learn more about the way to design tires for electric vehicles, and then we can imagine new technologies for the next generation of tires that will have better performance and efficiency.
“This is a really specific tire, generally for LMP car the front tire is 20 cm, and with this tire it’s 10 cm. That means that with a tire that’s two times smaller, we’ll have to develop the same road-car performance in terms of grip, in terms of longevity, and also the tire will be lighter. That means two times lighter than the standard LMP car tire, so by this way we’ll have a tire that will be smaller and lighter, that will allow the same car performance. It’s a way to improve the efficiency of the tire.
“So for the rear tire, based on the weight distribution of the car we have developed a specific tire that is more conventional, closer to standard LMP tires. It’s 40-cm width, a 15-inch tire. What is important is to adjust the tire size to the car geometry, weight distribution and aerodynamic distribution, and also to have the best possible balance for the car.
“It’s a fact we want to have the same longevity, to increase the longevity compared to standard racing tires, so we will develop specific compounds. The geometry of the car forces us to develop a front tire that is very narrow. But even with this narrow tire, we target to have a very high longevity.
“Competition is the laboratory for the street tire, and by the way of the project we are sure that we will have a lot of data from the run of the car that we will be able to use to develop the next generation of tire, and specifically for the electric cars.
“We talk about the future, but we are only at the beginning of the project. We can use a lot of simulation tools, because we want to be ready for Le Mans and we need to think about a lot of things regarding tire design. Before the car starts to run, we will start to give them the tire with the help of simulation tools that do analysis, and (make) a more efficient way to design the tire for the future.”