The Nissan Deltawing Race Car:
[ame=“www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_INdbXMqsw”]Track Test: Nissan DeltaWing Driven At Road Atlanta – /CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS - YouTube[/ame]
Nissan has confirmed details about the cars it will bring to the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show floors that opens its doors in about two weeks’ time on November 19 (for the press).
Highlighting Nissan’s presence at the show are two special models: the futuristic looking three-seat BladeGlider Concept that will spawn a production model within the next couple of years, and which we get to see, and the new GT-R Nismo Edition, which we don’t see now.
If you haven’t figured it out already, the BladeGlider is the sports car Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer was talking about in a recent interview with MotorTrend magazine in which he described the Toyota GT86 / Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ as cars “designed for a 50-year-old”.
Nissan’s answer to the 20-something of our times is the BladeGlider, which looks pretty nice from some specific angles and completely strange from all the rest, mainly because of its lopsided design reminiscent of Nissan’s Deltawing and ZEOD RC electric racecar prototypes, in which the front end is much narrower than the rear.
Nissan says that the design with a narrow 1.0-meter (39.4 inches) lightweight front track and wide, stable rear track, helps “reduce drag and enhance maneuverability for high G cornering power, assisted by a 30/70 front/rear weight distribution ratio”.
From the few technical details released, we learn that the BladeGlider sports a lightweight carbon-fiber underbody, carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) exterior body and in-wheel electric motors.
“When BladeGlider matures into a production car, it could be Nissan’s first use of in-wheel motors,” says Nissan. “The in-wheel motors provide rear-wheel propulsion with independent motor management, while also contributing to freedom of upper body design and space-efficient packaging,” the company adds.
In a similar fashion to the McLaren F1, the three-seat car positions the driver in the center and up front, with the two passengers squeezed on either side and towards the rear.
Apparently, Nissan’s goal with the BladeGlider is to invigorate the sports car segment with something completely new and fresh.
“The goal was to revolutionize the architecture of the vehicle to provoke new emotions, provide new value and make visible for consumers how Zero Emissions can help redefine our conception of vehicle basics,” commented Francois Bancon, division general manager of Product Strategy and Product Planning at Nissan.
So apparently, the FR-S/BRZ were designed for 50 year olds… Yeah, cheap + lightweight + rwd + crappy tires that let you slide around on the street are totally the sorts of things 50 year olds want in a car. Doesn’t sound like a modern 240sx or anything at all, hint hint.
Holy fuck nissan, just sell us something cheap and RWD and powered by a gas engine to directly compete with the toyobaru.
I like the dash and steering set up, otherwise it’s a bit painful. And I think the only reason I like the dash is because it harkens back to Gundam Wing or something equally lame.
Well if your commute is less than that then hell yes Paul. And you can build electric cars to stomp all over a majority of other cars as well so don’t even get into performance arguments.
Isnt a Volt like $40k? There could be a lot of gas put into a similar car like a Cruze for the additional cost.
And really I wouldn’t give a fuck about performance out of it. Id rather hear it make some noise when I stepped on the gas pedal instead of it sounding like my computer.
A volt is more like a malibu then a cruze. You can get into a volt around 35k and there used to be several grand in tax rebates for buying a hybrid. I’m really not sure if there are any anymore or not. Anyway it’s about long term savings yes the car is initially more expensive and the financing will cost more, but if you planned to keep the car for a long period of time there would be some savings in the long run. Like it or not Paul hybrid cars and electric cars are the way everything is going.
So the reason you hate electric cars and hybrids are because you’re uncomfortable with your sexuality?
I used to be all sorts of anti-hybrid and EV then I opened my eyes, drove a bunch and really learned a bit. To me, now, EVs are to us now what computers were to people in the 70s and even 80s. They are the future, every major manufacturer has experimented with them and continue to build them. Their cost is almost always offset by the $7,500 federal tax credit. A Nissan Leaf costs about $2 for a full charge at your home off peak hours. $2 for an average of 80 miles, which is what, 6 gallons of fuel for you? 6x$3.50=$21. So you’re spending 10.5x what a Leaf costs to cover the same distance.
A majority of Americans commute less than 40mi per day, so a single charge covers more than double most peoples’ commutes. Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to spend money filling it up in the cold winter, standing there for 5min?
I get it may not be for you, but you are also a bit ignorant on the subject. And in your case, ignorance is bliss, eh?
So Fisker and Fiat are all brands? Nissan Leafs are profitable (to dealerships at least) judging from what I’ve seen personally. Fisker was a lost cause from the beginning and the Fiat, well, is a Fiat.
