Based off of the latest developments in both racing and electric vehicles, the Nissan BladeGlider could be one of the most fun electric vehicles I’ve seen in a while.
The Nissan BladeGlider is a small three-seater electric vehicle. Unlike most conventional or electric vehicles on the market today, the configuration of the car is more arrow shaped, that is, the front wheels are spaced much closer together than the rear wheels. The shape does limit passenger space, just the driver in front, but allows for two to sit in the rear. At the same time, the arrow shape is extremely aerodynamic and maneuverable.
The weight of the Nissan BladeGlider is focused at the rear wheels, with two in-wheel electric motors powering the vehicle. In an electric vehicle, in-wheel electric motors reduce weight and efficiency losses that come from transmissions. Actually, this will be the first Nissan electric vehicle, if it goes to production, to feature in-wheel electric motor technology. It also allows for more accurate torque vectoring, which basically means that the power at the wheels is adjusted to help steer the vehicle. Add more power to the left rear wheel, and the vehicle tends to head right. On curvy roads, torque vectoring is a boon to confident handling.
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The Nissan BladeGlider is just an electric vehicle supercar concept right now, just shown at the Tokyo Motor Show. As we’ve seen from other automakers, it doesn’t take much to take developments at the track to adapt them for road-going vehicles. Take, for example, the Volkswagen XL1 and Twin-Up!, both of which have their roots in racing technology, both of which get over 250mpg. The Nissan BladeGlider concept has its roots in the Nissan How soon might we see this car on the streets?
Image © Nissan
