Wraps came off the Nissan Esflow Concept today in Geneva, so here are some more photos and details with the automaker’s new electric sports car.
With its powertrain composed from two electric motors of unspecified power, positioned above the rear wheels and a lithium-ion battery pack, the Nissan Esflow Concept is reportedly expected to accelerate from 0 to 100 Km/h in under 5.0 seconds and offer a driving range of 240 Km on a single charge.
In terms of design the Nissan Esflow features a series of elements which offer a clear hint that we won’t be seeing this concept on the streets any time soon. These features include wraparound windscreen, the tinted cool blue headlights and the rear view cameras replacing traditional mirrors positioned at the base of its A pillars.
The Nissan Esflow Concept interior has been approached with ‘ecological minimalism’ in mind, but without sacrificing luxury, and besides the sculpted seats wrapped in gold leather and perforated gold suede, the car also features dark blue leather and suede door trim, a blue and gold motif across the dashboard, and four multifunction illuminated LCD displays.
Nissan press release :
NISSAN ESFLOW ELECTRIC SPORTS CAR REMAINS ENVIRONMENTALLY SYMPATHETIC WITHOUT GIVING UP THE JOY OF DRIVING
NISSAN ESFLOW Concept puts the spark into electric vehicles
It looks like a sports car, handles like a sports car and performs
like one too. But ESFLOW is different than every other sports car yet
built: It’s electric. Using technology pioneered in the award-winning
Nissan LEAF, the EV concept shows that driving can still be as much fun
tomorrow as it is today.
At a Glance
ESFLOW – a pure EV sports car concept
Rear-wheel drive two-seater
Two electric motors, each driving a rear wheel
Laminated lithium-ion batteries mounted low for best weight distribution
Dramatic styling with wraparound windscreen for unobstructed visibility
0-100km/h in under 5 seconds
Over 240kms on one charge
The Nissan ESFLOW
Nissan has a reputation for creating some of the most exhilarating
sports cars on the market. Nissan has also developed the world’s first
practical Zero Emission family car, the Nissan LEAF.
Now Nissan has put that expertise together. It has captured the
excitement of a sports car and the environmental benefits of an electric
vehicle and blended them into one dramatic two-seater concept: ESFLOW.
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.
Owning an ecologically sound car does not have to come at the expense
of driving enjoyment. The briefest glance at the ESFLOW is enough to
tell you what kind of car it is: a long bonnet leading into a steeply
raked, wrap around windscreen, the compact cabin placing the occupants
bang on the car’s centre of gravity, hunched arches over ultra-low
profile tyres wrapped around six spoke wheels. 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.
The Car
The ESFLOW is based on existing technology, implemented in innovative
ways. An attractive, head turning composite body covers an aluminium
chassis, incorporating its own roll cage. The powertrain unit, which
employs the same technologies installed in the Nissan LEAF, is tuned to
offer a sporty driving experience.
The Powertrain
ESFLOW is rear-wheel drive and it 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 comes from the same laminated lithium-ion battery
packs used in the Nissan LEAF, but in 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 Chassis
An aluminium chassis has been built around the drive train, taking
full advantage of the opportunities that Zero Emission electric
propulsion provides. Power cells are incorporated in such a way that
they benefit ESFLOW’s strength and poise, not detract from them. Indeed,
unlike a conventional fuel tank, batteries do not get lighter as they
provide energy, so the car’s weight distribution remains constant
throughout a drive.
The high waistline afforded by the ESFLOW’s classic sports car
proportions allows strong, yet unobtrusive roll bars incorporated in to
the structure behind the seats to safely take the entire load of the car
in the event of a roll over, negating the need for obtrusive, thick,
reinforced A-pillars and the blind spots they inevitably create.
This almost unobstructed view ahead will not be unfamiliar to fighter
pilots, and just as such pilots speak of "strapping their planes on to
their backs", we hope ESFLOW owners will also feel the car to be an
extension of their bodies, reacting to their slightest whims. The driver
must be at the centre of the sports car both physically and
metaphorically.
The Body
The ESFLOW is undoubtedly an attractive car. Crisp, clean lines not
only convey the purity of its sporting potential, but suggest the
clarity of electric power. The colour scheme chosen for the concept car
is inspired by glaciers – highly reflective solidified liquid with blue
tints in its shadows. Like its ZEV concept forebears and contemporary
stable mate the ESFLOW’s headlights and Nissan emblem are tinted cool
blue. The six spoke wheels contain blue carbon inserts while the same
material adorns the side sill, roof mounted lip spoiler and lower rear
bumper.
Blue LEDs accentuate the futuristic lights slashed into the bodywork
both front and rear. Where the Nissan LEAF’s protrusive headlights are
used to guide airflow around the door mirrors, this is not needed on
ESFLOW as the mirrors have been replaced with minute rear view cameras
at the base of its A-pillars. The ESFLOW’s front lights do protect a
secret of their own however: flip out charging points built in to the
air ducts beneath.
The Interior
Ecological minimalism need not come at the expense of luxury. The
cabin of the ESFLOW is clean and open and weight saving has been a
priority throughout its design, but it is still a comfortable and
pleasant place to sit. By far the heaviest components in modern cars’
interiors are the steel framed, thickly upholstered and increasingly
motorized seats. In ESFLOW the seats are sculpted into the rear bulkhead
of the car, negating the need for a heavy frame. This of course means
that they are immobile, but this is of no consequence as the fly-by-wire
steering and pedals adjust electrically to the best spot to suit each
individual driver’s size and preferred driving position.
The seats themselves are upholstered in gold leather and perforated
gold suede while the doors are trimmed in dark blue leather and suede.
The blue and gold motif, the colour of sparks, is continued across the
dashboard, which is also adorned with silver carbon trim, and features
four multifunction illuminated LCD displays.
The Driver
Daniel, an ESFLOW owner, works in tech, but lives for the weekend. On
Friday night after work, he gets behind the wheels of his ESFLOW which
instantly links with his pocket PDA and determines the fastest route to
his girlfriend’s home. Finding street side parking is a synch as the
ESFLOW’s compact dimensions allow it to slip in to the narrowest of
spaces. On Saturday he drives to a popular club to exhibit his DJ skills
and his friends are impressed by his cool EV sports car.
On Sunday he drives through the mountains for leisure. ESFLOW’s superb
weight distribution and unobstructed view ahead enables him to
effortlessly nail every apex, every time. His descent from the mountains
is more relaxed and he allows the ESFLOW to overrun on the long
sweeping curves, turning the potential energy he and the car gained
climbing up the gradients back in to electrical energy he can use once
he hits the roads around Barcelona.
As his ESFLOW sips energy in its garage Daniel prepares himself for the week ahead, batteries fully recharged.
