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Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo looks awesome in red

As we reported the other day, Nissan has a whole raft of concepts it's bringing to the Tokyo Motor Show this year, but the Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo is perhaps the most striking. Or at the most least colorful. Now if you're thinking that we've already seen Nissan's concept for the popular racing sim, you're absolutely right. It debuted last summer ahead of the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed. But sinister as it looked in gray, this time it's been done up in bright red – Fire Knight red – according to the automaker. And as you can see for yourself in the gallery above, it looks awesome. Of course the Teatro for Dayz is still the main novelty here. Envisioned as a theater on wheels (hence the name), the Teatro packs the company's electric powertrain technology that we've already come to know from the Leaf. The interior is all smooth and white, serving as a sort of blank canvas of sorts – ostensibly allowing for a broad range of personalization. The minicar could point the way towards a successor to the equally quirky Cube that has, in its present iteration, been on the market since 2008. Or it could just be a showpiece for its home-market show, which only comes around every other year. Either way, you can check it out in the second image gallery. While you're doing that, we'll be staring at that red supercar concept for a while longer, and wondering how closely it might presage the next-generation GT-R. Nissan to show Teatro for Dayz, Gripz, Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo and more in Tokyo YOKOHAMA, Japan – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today released an overview of its exhibit at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show, which will be held at Tokyo Big Sight and open to the public from October 30 through November 8. Among the exhibits will be Teatro for Dayz, an innovative concept that signals a new direction in mobile technology. Designed especially for the digital native generation, this vision of near-future vehicles departs from convention and marks a shift in perception.

Recharge Wrap-up: drifting Nissan Leaf video, BMW i sponsors Formula E Berlin ePrix

Watch a Nissan Leaf drift. The folks at Autocar got their hands on Nissan's otherwise tame electric vehicle with a set of plastic rear tires, and got it sideways at the British Drift Championship. If that sounds ridiculous, well, it is, but it's also enormously entertaining. If it sounds particularly tricky to pull off in the front-drive EV, yeah, it's that, too. Check it out the drifting Leaf in the video above, and read more commentary at Hybrid Cars. BMW's i division is the title sponsor of the 2016 Formula E Berlin ePrix. The German automaker, which has already put the i8 and i3 to work as safety and medical cars for the electric racing series, is "delighted to be prominently represented with BMW i at the race weekend in the German capital," according to Joerg Reimann, BMW's Vice President of Brand Experience. The 2016 FIA Formula E BMW i Berlin ePrix - as it is now officially titled - takes place on May 21. Read more from Formula E. A Hawaiian biodiesel plant is the first in the US to be certified as sustainable. Pacific Biodiesel's Big Island Biodiesel plant gets its certification from the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance, covering both the plant's production and distribution of the alternative fuel. The facility uses waste oil, including used cooking oil, to produce its fuel. The certification system is designed to help worthy biofuel producers show that their processes and products are more than just greenwashing. Read more at Utility Dive, or from The New York Times. India's KPIT Technologies has earned the Promising Innovation in Transport Award at the 2016 Summit of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany. KPIT earned the special recognition for its system to convert diesel buses to all-electric power. The company's retrofits can be applied to a wide variety of bus platforms. Read more at Green Car Congress.

Nissan prices replacement Leaf battery at $5,500

The battery pack is the single most expensive component in a plug-in vehicle and, until now, figuring out the cost to replace one has been a bit of a mystery. Last year, Nissan tried a $100/month price for a new battery in its popular Leaf, but was loudly criticized for that attempt. Today, Nissan is changing gears with a big announcement regarding the price of a new pack for your Nissan Leaf: $5,500 to buy. With an asterisk. Nissan's Brian Brockman, writing at My Nissan Leaf, announced that Nissan Leaf replacement batteries are now available to purchase at certified Leaf dealers in the US at a suggested retail price of $5,499. These packs are the ones found in 2015 Leaf models, which are similar to the ones the Leaf has always had, just with a different, better battery chemistry. To buy a new pack, you need to give Nissan your original battery pack (which Nissan says will be recycled and has a value of $1,000) and the $5,500 "does not include tax, installation fees or an installation kit required for 2011 and 2012 vehicles." That kit costs around $225. A $100/month financing program will still be available (details will be made available later) but now it will have an end date and the driver will own the pack at the end of the payment process. All replacement packs will have the same eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty as the battery in a new Leaf. You can read Brockman's full statement below or over on My Nissan Leaf. Ever since the Leaf entered the market in late 2010, Nissan has been dealing with degrading battery issue, both as a real thing (in warm climates like Arizona) and as a worry in the mind of potential customers. Now that we know how much it'll cost to get a new pack, we can calculate that the overall cost for a new 24-kWh pack is now officially $6,500. That means the price to a customer is less than $270-per-kWh. That's quite low compared to some early estimates, right on target with others and a very big deal for EV shoppers and drivers out there. Hi all: I'm happy to be back to provide a long-awaited update on the Nissan LEAF battery replacement plan. Last year, I posted preliminary details of the program that we'd created based on early survey data, and it led to spirited discussion (and very vocal criticism). So we went back to the drawing board with your comments and the ongoing guidance of the LEAF Advisory Board.