Nissan has taken the next steps toward its debut in the all-electric ABB FIA Formula E Championship by revealing its concept livery at the Geneva Motor Show.
At last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan – the world’s leading mass-market zero-emission vehicle manufacturer – announced it would debut in Formula E from season five which is expected to begin in December 2018.
The livery for Nissan’s Formula E program was designed by Nissan’s Global Design team in Japan.
“At first glance the season five Formula E car looked to our design team like an EV-powered supersonic bird in flight,” said Alfonso Albaisa, senior vice president of global design at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. “Naturally this initial reaction from the team started us on a path that captured a sense of a form breaking free of resistance and gravity. Formula E racers are virtually silent, with explosive speed bursts thus naturally we turned to Doppler when designing the livery. The combination of the sonic pulse of the Doppler effect and the released power of a sonic boom inspired our celebration of EV Racing!”
The new package provides more power, more range and eliminates the need for the mid-race car swap which has been used in the first four seasons of the championship.
While the new Nissan Formula E car livery was revealed for the first in Geneva, work has been underway on developing the all-new technical package for many months as Nissan prepares for its debut.
Nissan is working with its partner Renault to leverage expertise and development already available, in keeping with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi automotive partnership’s focus on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. Additional details, including structure and drivers, will be announced at a later time.
Season five of the ABB FIA Formula E championship is expected to visit major international cities including Hong Kong, Berlin, Zurich, Rome and New York. The new car that will debut in season five is scheduled to race in the Formula E championship for the next three seasons.
Further details regarding Nissan’s drivers and other technical and marketing partners for its Formula E debut are expected to be announced later this year.