Nissan has officially revealed the Leaf Nismo concept at the Nissan Futures 3.0 event on October 2, 2017. Based on the second-gen Leaf that was unveiled in September 2017, the concept’s production-spec model is meant to attract younger buyers.
A single front three-fourth image of the hot EV shows that it will feature more aggressive bumpers, deeper side skirts and unique alloy wheels.
Design chief Alfonso Albaisa had told our sister publication Autocar UK that a “racier” Nismo version would be produced to help the second-gen hatch reach image-conscious buyers. The previous-gen model struggled to do reach that sort of consumer.
“The previous Leaf’s design wasn’t popular with the majority of people, so its look couldn’t contribute to sales,” he said. “The new car is lower, wider and sportier, with the point of this design being to get greater accessibility of the market.”
Albaisa also said it will not be difficult to make Nismo parts for the new Leaf as it offers Nismo trim on several models such as the Juke.
An even hotter version of the Nissan Leaf, the E-Plus, is expected in international markets by 2019. The E-Plus version will have higher-capacity batteries and a stiffer structure.
Nissan is planning to launch the second-gen Leaf EV in India late this year as confirmed by Daniele Schillaci, executive vice president, Global Marketing and Sales, Nissan Motor. The new model is based on a new platform that is expected to spawn more EVs, and gets a more powerful 40kW battery back capable of putting out up to 140hp. The motor has a range of 380km (up by 129km) under New European Driving Cycle.
Whether India will get the hotter Nismo version of the Leaf is unconfirmed. Even the standard Leaf has no direct rivals in the Indian market.
Uday Singh
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
Viraaj Bhatnagar
