2003 Nissan Touring on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan's front-engined Le Mans car caught testing at COTA

As far as we can tell, not only is it true, it's wilder than we could have expected: not only does the Nissan LMP1 entry for Le Mans have its engine in the front, it apparently uses that combustion engine to power the front wheels while its KERS unit powers the rear wheels. Those rear wheels could be of smaller diameter than the front wheels, and total system horsepower for the racer "is a conservative 2,000 [hp]." And check out how far back that pilot is sitting. Let's start with what's been seen in person. A race team testing at the Circuit of the Americas caught the GT-R LM on track a few days ago, so Jalopnik schlepped out to the track the following day and took photos and video. There's a big ol' meaty front end where the twin-turbo Cosworth V6 lives, and that gives way to a trimmer back end. Mulsanne Corner, which has been following the car's development, figures the weight balance percentage is around 55- to 58-percent in the front through strategic placement of the KERS unit and radiators, putting it in the same division as proper mid-engined cars. A prop shaft runs from the KERS in front to the rear of the car. It's speculated that the rear wheels are smaller than the front wheels because of that narrower rear end. In some of the Jalopnik photos the rear wheels do look smaller, which could explain the complicated half-shaft and drop-gear arrangement thought to be housed back there. If all that is true this will already be the "radically different" car Nissan wanted to build. Yet there's more: Mulsanne Corner says the Nissan is targeting an ultra low drag setup, so there's a lot of talk about the car not having a rear wing, or only the hint of one, and Nissan plotting "mental" speed targets for the French track. Having the engine in front is what would offer more flexibility with the rear wing. There's a good chance we'll know what it looks like on February 1, during the Super Bowl. Nissan will air a 60-second spot, and the advance tweet with the tagline "We're Back" and a helmet promises something racey. There are more pics over at Jalopnik along with a brief video of it running at speed.

Chinese Nissan Leaf goes on sale in September as Venucia e30

The upcoming Chinese version of the Nissan Leaf, the Venucia e30, was not the highlight of the Dongfeng Nissan stand at this year's Beijing Motor Show. That honor goes to the R30, a compact car with "segment-competitive fuel economy" and a starting price of under RMB 50,000 ($8,033 US). But that doesn't mean Dongfeng didn't make some news about the debut of the world's most popular electric vehicle in the world's most populous country. Dongfeng Nissan will start selling the e30 in the Chinese retail market this September. In a world where EV promises are not always worth the paper they're printed on, it's nice to see this target date is actually ahead of schedule. The sales launch follows EV pilot programs that saw 300 of the EVs rack up a total of one million kilometers (621,000 miles) in Guangzhou, Xiangyang and Dalian since December 2013. The e30 might just be the first or many EVs, since Donfeng-Nissan showed off the Viwa Concept EV last year. There are a few more details in the press release below. Dongfeng Nissan Unveils VENUCIA R30 at Auto China 2014 BEIJING, April 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company ("Dongfeng Nissan"), the passenger vehicle business unit of Nissan's joint venture in China, today unveiled R30 at Auto China 2014. R30 is the 4th production model for the company's new VENUCIA brand. The compact R30 delivers segment-competitive fuel economy with the strongest engine in class through a 1.2-liter gasoline engine, features a spacious interior, and offers easy handling for drivers to provide a high quality yet competitively priced car to Chinese consumers. The price of the main grade will be less than RMB 50,000. "Very competitively priced, R30 is the perfect entry car for Chinese consumers," said Ren Yong, Deputy Managing Director of Dongfeng Nissan. "I believe many Chinese consumers will choose R30 as their first car in the continuing motorization of China." Bookings for R30 will start within the next two months. Dongfeng Nissan also announced that e30, Venucia's electric vehicle, will be sold in the retail market starting in September. The company has already commenced EV pilot programs in the cities of Guangzhou, Xiangyang and Dalian, with a total of 300 e30s recording a total mileage of one million km since the programs started in December 2013. Venucia recorded sales of more than 100,000 units in 2013 and is targeting a 50 percent increase in sales this year.

Ghosn hedges Nissan's 2020 autonomous deadline

Three years ago, Nissan was one of the first companies to promise a hands-free autonomous car by 2020. According Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn, when and how much we'll be able to take our hands off the wheel depends on more than just the components in the car. At a press conference during this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, the head of the Renault-Nissan Alliance said, "No matter how fast the technology develops, the autonomous cars are very dependent on the regulation." Basically Ghosn is saying that Nissan will be ready, but the laws allowing hands-free driving might not be so prompt. "You can build a lot of autonomy, but if the consumer or the driver cannot enjoy it because he still has to have his hands on the wheel, he still has to have his eyes on the road, it just puts cost in the car without the benefit," said Ghosn. The overall tone of Ghosn's comments was that Nissan is ready for autonomous driving, but without clear laws there could be no point in offering the technology to consumers. Ghosn also clarified what autonomous driving means in Nissan terms, clarifying a statement last year where he said a consumer product is still a long way off. The company's three-step plan begins next year, "where you can be on the highway as long as you don't change lanes and you can be in autonomous mode." Then in 2018, these systems will be able to change lanes without human intervention. For the final step in 2020, "We're going to have cars capable in the city and on the highway to make more complicated operations [in an] autonomous way," said Ghosn. "That's why I think when you talk about autonomous cars, we have to be much more specific about what kind of autonomy are we talking about... but we maintain our forecast that is going to come in different waves, and we define our waves by the functionality of autonomy in our cars [in] '16, '18, '20." That said, don't skip your driver's license renewal five years from now. According to Ghosn, you won't see a Nissan without a steering wheel. That's both Nissan's goal, and the company's way around the lack of regulation on driverless cars. "Frankly, a car without a driver is not our priority... There is a driver, and we are putting some functions into the car, allowing the driver to drive when they want, and to stop driving when they want... These are the same pieces of technology, which in addition to others, can lead you to the car without the driver.