Nissan ZEOD RC at Le Mans

[Doug_G]

Nissan Unveils Revolutionary Engine to Complement Electric ZEOD RC Powerplant - Nissan Online Newsroom

Plug-in hybrid on steroids.

The Nissan ZEOD RC will become the first entry at Le Mans to complete a lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe under nothing but electric power in June. A single lap of each stint (a fuel "stint" lasts approximately one hour) will be electric powered. Then, the new Nissan DIG-T R 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo engine will take over.

The incredibly small engine weighs only 40 kilograms (88 pounds) but produces an astonishing 400 horsepower. The base engine is only 500 mm tall x 400 mm long x 200 mm wide (19.68" x 15.74" x 7.78"). While the engine is technically too heavy to take as carry-on luggage on a plane, it would easily fit inside the luggage guides seen at major airports around the world.

 

[dpeilow]

Having seen the engine up close this past weekend, it was truly impressively small. Supposedly Nissan didn't get a delivery of some new wonder battery from the US in time, but they were still able to complete a racing lap under electric power. Then after 23 minutes the gearbox broke. Now where have we heard that before?

 

[wallet.dat]

If you ain't breaking something, you ain't making enough power