NISSAN ZEOD RC - The "Electric DeltaWing" 2014 Garage 56 thread

[Hun200kmh]

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Nissan today unveiled the groundbreaking, innovative ZEOD RC - the world’s fastest electric racing car that will reach speeds of more than 300km/h with electric technology at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car) will make its race debut at next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. The global leader in electric vehicles for the road, Nissan will trial variants of new electric drive train technologies as part of its intended future return to LM P1 competition to challenge for overall victory at the world’s most prestigious endurance race.

Nissan’s invitation from the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) to compete in the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours was announced by Nissan Chairman and CEO, Carlos Ghosn in Japan in February. The car will compete under the ACO’s ‘Garage 56’ entry – an additional spot on the grid for vehicles that showcase new and innovative technology.

Run as a Nissan / Nismo full factory international program with input from Japan, Europe and the US, the Nissan ZEOD RC design team is headed by Ben Bowlby who has been newly-appointed as Nissan’s Director of Motorsport Innovation and previously worked on the Nissan DeltaWing program in 2012.

While the car will not race until next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, Nissan today kicked off a unique aspect of the program – race fans getting the chance to unveil the car in the public area of the Circuit de la Sarthe. Nissan intends to draw back the curtain for fans across the globe to provide continued updates via its international partnership with YouTube and its Nismo.TV channel.

“Nissan has become a global leader in the development of zero emission automotive technology and the Nissan ZEOD RC will allow us to further develop those capabilities using the toughest endurance race in the world as a mobile test bed to test the potential of our planned LM P1 power train,” said Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President and Executive Committee member at Nissan Motor Company Limited.

“The Nissan ZEOD RC is a natural progression that follows on from the development of the Nissan LEAF road car and the LEAF RC race car prototype. The technologies developed through the ZEOD RC program will form part of future innovations for Nissan road cars.

“Nissan is already a global leader in the sale of all-electric cars and we’re eagerly awaiting the opportunity to showcase the lessons learnt with the development of battery technology in the world’s oldest, toughest and most high profile endurance race.

“The ZEOD RC program is designed to develop multiple technologies to evaluate how they could be used for a future LM P1 class return of Nissan at the Le Mans 24 Hour. There are multiple options we are investigating. A Zero Emission on Demand option where the driver can switch between electric and petrol-powered drive is a future direction for road cars, so that will be tested in addition to pure electric power and other new technologies that we still have under development.

“As no other manufacturer is using electric battery technology in endurance racing today, Nissan is innovating again and this will provide us with significant amounts of data and information to evaluate potential powertrains for future sportscar programs and allow us to continue as the leader in Zero Emissions technology on the road.”

Launched in 2010, the Nissan LEAF has become the world’s best-selling all-electric car. The LEAF won the 2010 Green Car Vision Award, the 2011 European Car of the Year, the 2011 World Car of the Year, and the 2011–2012 Car of the Year Japan.

Nissan launched the Nissan LEAF RC in 2011 – a race car prototype powered by the same 107-hp electric motor that is used in the road car.

While current battery technology does not provide the energy storage capacity to race a solely electric Le Mans prototype, Nissan ZEOD RC designer Ben Bowlby believes the development of the car will be an important step in the “electrification” of the racecars of the future.

“Developing a car like this provides an incredibly challenging test bed for what could be highly-effective options for road cars of the future. Throughout the next twelve months we will be testing multiple drive train options in an extensive test program,” Bowlby said.

“We have many options to consider and test. The test program is part of a longer term goal of developing a system and a set of rules for this type of technology in partnership with the ACO that would be best suited to competing at the highest level of this sport.”

“Nissan is a leader in electric vehicle technology for the road, now we want to take those lessons learnt and utilise that knowledge base in the development of the new race car.

“Our design team on the Nissan ZEOD RC program has concentrated heavily on packaging and aerodynamic efficiency that will not only provide extreme performance but high levels of energy efficiency – the goal for all global automakers.

“A large part of our work in the coming months is to discuss with the ACO future opportunities for the ‘electrification’ of the Le Mans rules in the future and work towards delivering appropriate technology. Garage 56 is a bold move by the ACO to showcase Innovation and allow testing of untried components and systems for future competition use. To this end they are the most forward thinking promoter in motorsport today.”

Nissan will partner with French tire manufacturer Michelin to produce tires for the new prototype. Nissan previously joined forces with Michelin on the Nissan DeltaWing program. The Clermont-Ferrand-based manufacturer has a deep involvement in innovation and also benefits form an enviable knowledge in the development of energy efficient competition and road tires.

The Nissan ZEOD RC will make its testing debut later this summer. Nissan’s assault on the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hour will again target victory in the P2 class with 15 of the 22 entries powered by Nissan. In the opening rounds of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, Nissan has dominated, taking victory at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.

 

[Wardez]

I volunteer to be the battery charger! COME ON NISSAN.

Can you imagine how many stacks of batteries they'll have charging in a farm by the pits? Wow, really interested in seeing how they tackle the race next year. I'm guessing some sort of hot swappable battery packs. Gonna be an absolutely psycho race in 2014.

 

[freshseth83]

I stayed up for this? Deltawing 1.5? Very disappointed. The only good news for me is the lmp1 in the cards.

 

[Hun200kmh]

What is the problem people have with the Deltawing architecture? Tbh, the only part I dislike about this new 56th garage entry is it being an electric car. Nissan will need to convince me this is more environmental-friendly than a normally powered car (ie internal combustion engine).

Now, the Deltawing shape is a problem? How come? Less drag, less consumption, no wings, it works, it comes from "lateral thinking" by a brilliant engineer.

I especially love the "NO WINGS" rule Bowlby set out for this car from its very beggining (since the Indianapolis days).

And I don't like the closed cockpit body (still, a lot better than the one showed at the ALMS) but I understand that's an ACO demand for 2014.


Anyway, I LIKE!

 

[AerodyManiac]

This is fantastic.

The Nissan Deltawing looks awesome and is a brilliant concept. And since the ZEOD RC looks like the Deltawing, it didn't lose any of its aesthetic brilliance. What makes the ZEOD even better is that it's now powered by electric.

I'm looking forward to it running at 2014's Le Mans. 👍

 

[SpeedyishOlly]

For some reason it looks comical to me, don't ask why.......

 

[Fryto]

So what's going to happen with that Green car then that pulled out of the garage 56 slot at the last instance?
I though they would just postpone their appearance to next year, but apparently not then...
I'm wondering if we might see them later on in the WEC season this year...

 

[AudiMan2011]

So what's going to happen with that Green car then that pulled out of the garage 56 slot at the last instance?
I though they would just postpone their appearance to next year, but apparently not then...
I'm wondering if we might see them later on in the WEC season this year...

The GreenGT is probably going to be used as a technical showcase for alternative Le Mans powertrains.

Regarding the ZEOD, I read that it would not be a pure EV but would push hybrid technology further regarding the 2014 regulations. I am also sceptical of the design being a Deltawing clone as Nissan supported the original project before they pulled out last year before coming up with the ZEOD. I smell irony.

 

[Panoz]

With the Nissan unveiled, I wondering which car is the true DeltaWing. This car or the car running in the ALMS this year.

Also, when looking at the Nissan, why does its remind me of a uhhh..."pleasure device" instead of a electric racing car.

 

[SlowInFastOut]

thank goodness it's white, maybe they won't get wrecked again.

 

[SagarisGTB]

Terrible and typical Nissan BS. All PR, no actual racing. They dropped hints of a possible LMP1 project in the future, but now we know that's not going to happen either.

 

[Ardius]

Terrible and typical Nissan BS. All PR, no actual racing. They dropped hints of a possible LMP1 project in the future, but now we know that's not going to happen either.

They get better marketing value out of this than Toyota do with their LMP1.

 

[gtone339]

Experimental test mule for their upcoming LMP1 program in the future, guessing 2015 or 2016. World's fastest full-electric powered race car!! 👍

 

[DK]

I somehow doubt electric car technology will be developed enough in 2015/6 to allow a car to push ~550kW (~725hp) for about 45 minutes while being able to refuel just as quickly as a conventionally-powered car can. And that's before factoring in the weight of the battery pack.

 

[SagarisGTB]

They get better marketing value out of this than Toyota do with their LMP1.

Well yeah, Nissan are being smart about it. But as a racing fan, it really rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Wyvern_64]

Electric powertrain makes sense for the Deltawing base. It uses much less energy than LMP2-size cars, which makes it much more feasible. That and torque vectoring on the rear tires should really help handling, with the wide rear track and narrow front.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Terrible and typical Nissan BS. All PR, no actual racing. They dropped hints of a possible LMP1 project in the future, but now we know that's not going to happen either.

How is that supposed to happen when the car will be raced next year?

 

[SagarisGTB]

It will be "raced", but racing unclassified isn't anywhere near the same as going up against the GTE-Pro field or going against Audi/Toyota/Porsche. Nissan wants the publicity, without the risk of failing, without any expectations, without committing, and with a budget that Nissan can choose with little restrictions. There's no benchmark, so the car will be deemed successful by just finishing the race. It'll seem impressive, but in the same way a Marussia F1 would seem impressive if it was the only car of it's kind on earth.

But we knew all that already. My disappointment with this reveal is that a deltawing is a completely different sort of concept to a traditional LMP1, so it seems less likely that the project could be a stepping stone. If the car was somewhat conventional, I would have tried to be optimistic about Nissan following up this project with an LMP1 program, but I feel the deltawing reveal has put a damper on that.

 

[freshseth83]

Aside from assumptions about what Nissan's PR wants from this, a Japanese site has some targets for the car in terms of specifications and performance;

According to Kota Sera (Japanese motorsport journalist)'s blog http://serakota.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2013-06-21-1
Nissan ZEOD RC specs are:
-Target weight: 700kg (cf. deltawing: 575kg)
-Motor: Rear motor (200kw)*2?
-Required battery capacity per lap: 40MJ (11.1kwh) (cf. Nissan LEAF's battery capacity: 24kwh)
-Target time: under 4min
-Range Extender engine is equipped.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Aside from assumptions about what Nissan's PR wants from this, a Japanese site has some targets for the car in terms of specifications and performance;

According to Kota Sera (Japanese motorsport journalist)'s blog http://serakota.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2013-06-21-1
Nissan ZEOD RC specs are:
-Target weight: 700kg (cf. deltawing: 575kg)
-Motor: Rear motor (200kw)*2?
-Required battery capacity per lap: 40MJ (11.1kwh) (cf. Nissan LEAF's battery capacity: 24kwh)
-Target time: under 4min
-Range Extender engine is equipped.

I need someone here that has knowledge on this matter to tell me just how "groundbraking" is that when compared to what TMG already achieved in the past (2011 I think).

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Toyota has set a new electric vehicle lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Driving a modified Radical, dubbed the EV P001, Jochen Krumbach completed the 20.8 km (12.9 mile) long course in 7 minutes and 47.794 seconds which buried the previous record of 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds that was set by the Peugeot EX1 concept.

According to Rob Leupen, Toyota Motorsport's Director of Business Operations, "This is a very impressive achievement which really shows the huge potential for electric powertrains to deliver fast, exciting action on the race track. There's no doubt that electric motorsport can be every bit as thrilling as traditional racing and it was an amazing sensation to watch the TMG electric vehicle fly past on the Nordschleife, with only the sound of wind rushing past and tires squealing."

As we have previously reported, the P001 features a 41.5 kWh lithium-ceramic battery which powers two electric motors that develop 381 PS (280 kW / 375 hp) and 800 Nm (590 Nm) of torque. This setup enables the 970 kg (2,138 lb) car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 260 km/h (162 mph).

This is jawdropping already. What does the ZEOD bring that tops this significantly? Endurance? 24 hours of it? I'm more interested in the "endurance" targets than I am in the "power" or "top speed" specs.

 

[freshseth83]

They went even faster y'know! A 7:22 with the updated powertrain.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Indeed. And an interesting part of what they said about it was:

Since our Nürburgring record last year, we have developed our electric powertrain to deliver more power, more consistently, over a longer distance by managing the temperature of batteries, motors and inverter. Pikes Peak was a clear illustration of the improvements and we have now reinforced that at the Nürburgring. But this achievement is not only about on-track performance; we are also very proud of the DC Quick Charger which again provided a reliable power supply in a remote location. This is an aspect of electric motorsport which has not been discussed at length but it is very significant; electric race cars need to be charged and it is a challenge to have the right infrastructure at race tracks, particularly temporary street circuits. Together with our partners at Schneider Electric, we have developed a solution to charge a race car literally anywhere in the world. This, along with the TMG EV P002 powertrain, represents a major step forward for electric motorsport.

Here the TMG EV P002 specs:

EDIT - For comparison purposes, here the P002 lap:

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RE-EDIT - And since then the EV P002 has already been revised TWICE. This is the Pikes Peak version that is going up very soon, to break its own previous record.

Important things about it:

TMG is using its pioneering off-board battery-to-battery charging technology, including Schneider Electric EVlink™ DC Charger, to charge the TMG EV P002 from the mountainside, where there is no reliable connection to the power grid.

Mounted in a TOYOTA Hiace, the TMG DC Quick Charger includes a 42kWh lithium ion battery, which charges directly from the AC power grid. After an overnight charge, it quickly delivers high levels of power to the TMG EV P002 without additional installation or infrastructure.

With varying current and voltage output, the TMG DC Quick Charger is an independent source of power for rapid recharging in any location and it is being used to charge the TMG EV P002 throughout the Pikes Peak event.

TMG EV P002 Technical Specifications

Performance
Top Speed - 230 km/h (142mph)
Maximum Torque - 1200Nm
Maximum Power - 400kW
Maximum Revs - 6000rpm

Powertrain
Electric Motor - 2 axial flux
Inverter - 2 x TMG inverters
Gear Ratio - 3.13
Transmission - Single-reduction gearing
Battery - Lithium ceramic
Battery Capacity - 42 kWh
Charging Technology - Off-board DC charging

Dimensions
Length - 4.10m (13 foot 5 inches)
Height - 1.04m (3 foot 5 inches)
Width - 1.79m (5 foot 10 inches)[/CODE]

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TMG DC Quick Charger Specifications

AC Grid Connection / Input
Grid Connection - 400 V AC CEE 16 A
Nominal input power - 6.6kW

DC Vehicle Connection
Output voltage - 400 VDC
Maximum DC output power - 25kW

Storage
Battery - 42 kWh, lithium ion

General
Technology partner - Schneider Electric (EVlink&#8482
Operating temperature - 0 to 40°C
Storage temperature - -30 to 60°C
Protection - Short-circuit protection, output fuse, over-current and over-voltage protection, under-voltage shutdown

 

[freshseth83]

On Toyota Europe's webpage they said they've increased the downforce THREEFOLD. Those huge wings definitely work.

 

[Famine]

Just to kill the speculation, I talked to "a Nissan Motorsports driver" and a "Nismo employee" at the weekend about ZEOD very shortly after the unveiling.

ZEOD has a 1.3 litre conventional petrol engine which will drive the car for six laps while it charges up the battery. It'll then run a seventh lap on battery power alone, at exactly the same pace - 300km/h (186mph) capable in either form. And be lit up blue while doing so.

Assuming the same fuel consumption as DeltaWing, it'll be able to run 14 lap stints - 12 gas, 2 battery - and 8 stints per set of tyres. However, where DeltaWing was initially only at the level of the LMP2s at Le Mans, ZEOD is supposedly aimed at keeping up with LMP1s... Don't know which ones, but after what DeltaWing did at Petit Le Mans in its second race, it should be interesting.

 

[Furinkazen]

Nissan ZEOD Officially Revealed.

 

[Azure Flare]

And here is the engine.

Produces 400 HP and 280 lbs-ft of torque, and weighs just 88 lbs.

I hope they don't ever lose it, there's no replacement for misplacement.

 

[niky]

Crate package... please? Hopefully without the turbo stacked on top of it.

 

[G.T.Ace]

If that engine holds, it's an engineering masterpiece.
Can't wait to see that baby drive in Le Mans, I'm even more hyped for it than for Porsche.

 

[Vic Reign93]

The potential of that engine is nuts. 130hp+ PER cylinder.

They could de-tune it for the Nissan road cars like the IDX and really get ahead in the cheap sports car segment or if their really insane, stick two together and make a 800hp 3 Litre Twin Turbo V6.

 

[MHPALA]

Put that engine in a juke please.