Nissan Formula E Race Car Channels Japanese Heritage for Season 6
Powertrain and looks change, drivers do not
Continuing its participation in the increasingly popular Formula E series, Nissan used the eve of the Tokyo Motor Show to show the redesigned race car that will compete in the next season.
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Nissan's Formula E car has a new Japan-inspired look for season six of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship series. The red, black, and white design was inspired by a Japanese kimono and the color scheme will also be used on the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC, a performance version of the Leaf with a dual electric motor. The final design came after a call to about 40 in-house designers to submit concepts.
"As we approach the beginning of our second season of Formula E competition, our design team proposed a new look, one that celebrates our Japanese heritage and vibrant technology DNA," said Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan's senior vice president for global design. "We used our iconic Nissan racing red, black, and white colors layered diagonally in a kimono pattern, which creates a dynamic and powerful impression."
While the car has changed, the drivers have not, with Sebastien Buemi and Oliver Rowland returning to form the Nissan e.dams team and show off Nissan's electric car technology and use the lessons learned to advance the electric car lineup the automaker is rolling out.
For season six, the powertrain was updated to meet new regulations. It replaces the dual electric-motor system used in season five which drove Nissan to second place in the championship with six podium finishes, six pole positions, and 16 Super Pole qualifying appearances, and a win during the final race weekend in New York.
"With a major change to a single-motor solution, we had plenty to do in the off-season. We'll use everything we learned from season five to improve our package, with an even greater emphasis on battery and energy management," said Michael Carcamo, Nissan's global motorsports director.
Season six of Formula E will kick off next month in Saudi Arabia. Fourteen races will be held in 12 cities.
Alisa Priddle joined MotorTrend in 2016 as the Detroit Editor. A Canadian, she received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and has been a reporter for 40 years, most of it covering the auto industry because there is no more fascinating arena to cover. It has it all: the vehicles, the people, the plants, the competition, the drama. Alisa has had a wonderfully varied work history as a reporter for four daily newspapers including the Detroit Free Press where she was auto editor, and the Detroit News where she covered the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, as well as auto trade publication Wards, and two enthusiast magazines: Car & Driver and now MotorTrend. At MotorTrend Alisa is a judge for the MotorTrend Car, Truck, SUV and Person of the Year. She loves seeing a new model for the first time, driving it for the first time, and grilling executives for the stories behind them. In her spare time, she loves to swim, boat, sauna, and then jump into a cold lake or pile of snow.
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