Nissan Leaf Nismo Concept Breaks Cover in Tokyo
Redesigned Leaf gets the Nismo treatment
The Nissan Leaf may've just hit the streets here in Japan last month, but the automaker is already hard at work looking to capitalize on the sportier-looking (and hopefully sportier-driving) variant with the Nissan Leaf Nismo concept. Looking to bring its performance heritage and relatively recent electric expertise together, the Leaf Nismo concept sets out to further prove that electric cars can be just as fun to drive as they are good for the environment.
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The Leaf Nismo concept is pretty mild by Nismo standards, but pretty wild for a Leaf. The last Leaf Nismo, sold exclusively in Japan, was little more than a Leaf with red accents, but the new concept backs up the red accents with a lowered, sport-tuned suspension, sticky Continental summer tires, and revised computer tuning that makes the Leaf's 147 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque available quicker than in the standard Leaf.
The revised body workalso gives the Leaf Nismo concept some performance enhancements, says Nissan. The new lower fascia and spoiler are designed to reduce lift without ruining the Leaf's impressive 0.28 coefficient of drag.
There are currently no plans to put the Leaf Nismo into production, but given the manufacturer's desires to both expand the appeal of the Leaf and the credibility of the Nismo brand, we wouldn't be surprised to see it in showrooms and on streets worldwide.
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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