Nissan has a reputation for creating some of the most exhilarating sports cars on the market and using the technology pioneered in the award-winning Nissan Leaf, the Japanese car maker has turned its attention to developing a car that “can still be as much fun tomorrow as it is today”.
In doing so, it has created the Esflow, which captures the excitement of a sports car and the environmental benefits of an electric vehicle and blended them into one dramatic two-seater concept.
Esflow has been created from the ground up as a pure electric vehicle, to give an idea how a Zero Emission sports car of the future might look. "Living ecologically has often been seen as an act of austerity - to save one's environmental conscience sacrifices must be made. Esflow is here to address that misconception," claims Nissan.
Esflow is unmistakably a sports car, and those in the know will recognize its heritage - hints of classic and contemporary Nissan sports cars abound.
Vitally, Esflow is not an existing ICE (internal combustion engine) powered vehicle that has been adapted to run on electricity, but a sports car that's been designed from the outset as a Zero Emission vehicle. This means that Nissan's forward thinking designers have had free rein to place the power train and batteries in the optimum positions to benefit the car's handling and performance and enhancing the thrill of driving.
100 kph in under 5 seconds
Esflow is rear-wheel drive and runs on two motors. The car's graceful proportions allow the twin electric motors to be placed above the axis of the rear wheels, in a mid-ship position. These motors independently control the left and right wheels, and so the torque is optimized to ensure outstanding vehicle stability and control as well as efficient power regeneration. The motors produce enough torque in an instant for it to reach a 100kph in under 5 seconds.
Power for the motors come from the same laminated lithium-ion battery packs used in the Nissan Leaf, but in the Esflow the packs are located along the axis of the front and rear wheels. This centralizes the mass of the car, and thus its rotation point, close to the driver's hips. These cleverly positioned batteries enable the car to travel over 240km on one charge.
The Esflow concept will be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show (3-13 March) alongside Nissan’s flagship zero and low emission mobility and the 2011 European Car of The Year and the first pure electric CoTY winner the Nissan Leaf, as well as the advanced Micra DIG-S.
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