Nissan BladeGlider - Performance EV Concept

Although technical details are scarce, the deltoid body shape is wrapped in carbonfibre-reinforced plastic, with the interior seating three people: a centrally placed passenger and two passengers either side, as pioneered on the McLaren F1 road car.

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(From the piece linked above.)

Looks like Nissan has finally perfected the driverless car! Three passengers and no driver, apparently. What ever happened to proofreading? Or even paying attention to what one is writing...?

I have spent the last few days trying to decide if Nissan is serious, getting used to the radical concept, and thinking about all the reasons I might not want to buy one.

But it really comes down to one thing, as expressed in the story below:

...If you don’t want one, you’re dead inside...

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http://gas2.org/2013/11/08/nissan-builds-spectacular-road-going-electric-deltawing/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nissan, I am quite satisfied with my family truckster LEAF, far and away the best appliance car I've ever driven.

But if you want to place your brand ahead of every other in innovation and performance, you will build the BladeGlider.

Where do I sign up for delivery?

Looks like they are considering the need for a hard top as well:


I keep re-reading the various articles and basically chanting... "Hope they make it..." "Hope I can afford it..."

jhm614 said:

Looks like they are considering the need for a hard top as well:..

I keep re-reading the various articles and basically chanting... "Hope they make it..." "Hope I can afford it..."

Click to expand...

This story is getting better and better.

...the in-wheel electric motors...(have) been confirmed for the production car, a Nissan first...

"I've driven the prototype, and it is unlike anything I have sampled before," said Palmer. "This is the car that takes advantage of all the packaging benefits of an electric powertrain. All that weight and the set-up of the front racks means that the car is incredibly pointy, but the rear track and downforce mean that you can catch the oversteer with amazing ease."

Palmer confirmed the car will make production, sitting below the more traditional Nissan 370Z sports car in the firm's line-up and in terms of price, meaning it will cost significantly below £30,000 despite its hi-tech electric powertrain.

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http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows/nissan-bladeglider-sports-ev-unveiled?page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I interpret that as a the ~$40k US price that would probably sell me one.

My own suggested 2017 MY intro target specs would be:

~2,000 Lbs. If Nissan can keep it light (while still meeting fed crash test standards) the handling and acceleration will not disappoint.

~6 m/kWh @ 60 mph, with ~25 kWh available, providing ~150 mile highway range.

~$40,000 base price.

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The one option I hope buyers will have is to choose either a fixed hard top or a simple and light (carbon fiber?) removable (multi-panel?) hard top that fits in the frunk and/or trunk.

I really can't argue with the view from the single seat cockpit. If the design is as fast, smooth, efficient and agile as we know it could be, this would be an amazing (unique) driving experience!

Now about those back seats, "targa" roof and blind spots.
-The rear seats have just about no visibility out the sides of the vehicle and appear slightly lower that the driver. With a hard top on it would be just about cave like back there. If the car is very agile, anyone prone to motion sickness will get very eager to revenge puke down the back of the drivers shirt. Ask people who have spent time in the back of an FJ Cruiser on a twisty mountain road.
-The roof appears to be removable. How big, how heavy, where do you put it and what happens if you are supposed to leave it at home and the rain shows up? If any design needed a transparent or semi opaque roof panel(s), this is it.
-Roof on, the back third of the design is a blind spot. Cameras/sensors would be essential but the public is still not comfortable with these technologies. Those passengers need to get a bit more cozy in the shoulders so you can wrap the glass more and farther back.

I am certain Nissan is well aware of this stuff and exploring the best choices. They should have called this car the LEAP because its going to be A LOT of work! I applaud Nissan for wanting to take the harder but more rewarding path as it could really solidify their foundation in new Intellectual Property that others may have trouble duplicating.

So if I were Bancon, I would revisit and explore glider design and their tandem two seat arrangements. Then think "SportBike" and wrap that side glass farther back and very tight. If your going to put someone in the trunk, give them a great and thrilling view. Two seat tandem is lighter, much less blind spot, a much smaller lighter roof panel to remove and stow plus there would no issue of asymmetrical balance to figure out.

It appears to borrow a number of design elements from the DeltaWing race car., for which Nissan provided the engine..

TomT said:

It appears to borrow a number of design elements from the DeltaWing race car., for which Nissan provided the engine..

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Deltawing was good. ZEOD will be the real test. Ben Bowlby clearly has job security with Nissan for awhile.

TRONZ said:

...-The rear seats have just about no visibility out the sides of the vehicle and appear slightly lower that the driver. With a hard top on it would be just about cave like back there. If the car is very agile, anyone prone to motion sickness will get very eager to revenge puke down the back of the drivers shirt. Ask people who have spent time in the back of an FJ Cruiser on a twisty mountain road.
-The roof appears to be removable. How big, how heavy, where do you put it and what happens if you are supposed to leave it at home and the rain shows up? If any design needed a transparent or semi opaque roof panel(s), this is it.
-Roof on, the back third of the design is a blind spot. Cameras/sensors would be essential but the public is still not comfortable with these technologies. Those passengers need to get a bit more cozy in the shoulders so you can wrap the glass more and farther back.
...

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This is a concept, far (but not too far, I hope) removed from the production BEV, which will, no doubt, have a less extreme final design.

...The BladeGlider concept will be revealed at the Tokyo motor show, and is one vision of how the concept will work. Styling of the production car is expected to change, with the BladeGlider being described by design chief Shiro Nakamura as "an extreme interpretation" of how the car could look...

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http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows/nissan-bladeglider-sports-ev-unveiled?page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At first, I thought the extreme 1+2 seating was just not gonna happen.

But now I hope it is kept, rather than expanding the size enough to fit 2+2 seating.

Just allow the back seats to fold down or be removed for cargo space, OK Nissan?

TRONZ said:

They should have called this car the LEAP

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Wow! I love it! A LEAP forward, A LEAP into the future... etc. Great name!

To sum up how I feel about this car........................

edatoakrun said:

This is a concept, far (but not too far, I hope) removed from the production BEV

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I am hoping that it is more far(ish) in aesthetic/proportions. It just reminds me too much of a tail heavy trike which is just about the lowest thing on the performance food chain. Fair or unfair, this is a negative visual association that should be explored. When Bancon very proudly (and rightfully so) stood in front of EsFlow two years ago, he CLEARLY explained the emphasis of the design was for a fully resolved and believable sports car using traditional performance car cues. Now the problem/opportunity is how do you work with unconventional proportions to re-establish sports car cues that make everyone believe a trike will perform. So yes, Nissan knows its very unresolved;

"The BladeGlider... is one vision of how the concept will work. Styling of the production car is expected to change,... being described by design chief Shiro Nakamura as "an extreme interpretation" of how the car could look." - AutoCar

IMHO
-It does have four wheels so make that honest.
-30/70 weight balance does NOT need to mean 30/70 visual mass. In fairness, for Concept purposes, the two tone has been clearly chosen to emphasize the delta planform. But seriously Nissan, I get it! You don't need to put a giant white triangle on top of a black car.

I do not know which studio was assigned this concept but its cobbled character lines make me guess it was Japan. They LOVE odd and cute. But if so, Nissan should really have the Euro and American studios tale a pass at this concept as well.

The BladeGlider overcompensates for the performance the last two Leaf's (2011 and 2013) lack. Does anyone know the anticipated price? Can we sign-up yet? I may replace my aging 350Z!

NaturesLeaf said:

The BladeGlider overcompensates for the performance the last two Leaf's (2011 and 2013) lack. Does anyone know the anticipated price? ...

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Only price guess I've seen is from Autocar, which I posted on the previous page:

edatoakrun:

...This story is getting better and better.

...the in-wheel electric motors...(have) been confirmed for the production car, a Nissan first...

"I've driven the prototype, and it is unlike anything I have sampled before," said Palmer. "This is the car that takes advantage of all the packaging benefits of an electric powertrain. All that weight and the set-up of the front racks means that the car is incredibly pointy, but the rear track and downforce mean that you can catch the oversteer with amazing ease."

Palmer confirmed the car will make production, sitting below the more traditional Nissan 370Z sports car in the firm's line-up and in terms of price, meaning it will cost significantly below £30,000 despite its hi-tech electric powertrain.

Click to expand...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows/nissan-bladeglider-sports-ev-unveiled?page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I interpret that as a the ~$40k US price that would probably sell me one...

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If they can break up the "trike" mass then I'm in. And no, I am not a fan of the three seat layout.

TRONZ said:

If they can break up the "trike" mass then I'm in. And no, I am not a fan of the three seat layout.

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Then your not a fan of this car as those are key elements to the design and appeal. No worries, there will be plenty of plain jane BEVs for you to choose from.

GIBBER said:

those are key elements to the design and appeal

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The central drivers position and cockpit is awesome! But overall appeal?? Seriously. After five days this thread has only four pages of moderately OT comments not all positive. Bladeglider is hardly blowing everyones hair back. This is not good. You should wander around the EsFlow threads (consolidated) to see how people respond to an appealing concept. Pages build fast when people are excited and unfortunately, this is not happening.

Regardless of what Nissan claims today, I have a feeling that this car will not go to production anytime soon. Palmer says it will but does not indicate a time frame on when it could be available. While this unique design might draw positive feedback in areas like Japan, it most likely won't have the same acceptance in Europe and North America. Being that performance may be the key selling point of this car, they will need to release some solid performance numbers for it to go over well w/ what we're hearing. I'm not sure how they modified an Ariel Atom since it was neither intended to be a DeltaWing layout or a central driver's position or an EV or to handle the increased unsprung mass of the rear suspension. The DeltaWing configuration is probably the perfect layout for an EV; improved areo, best scenario for regen in a RWD platform, low CG and I love the driver's central seating-position, albeit difficult to get in and out of gracefully (assuming the powered lateral-sliding seat doesn't make it to production) but for it to have any chance, it has to equal or beat the performance of the top ICE cars under $30k. That means it has to spank a BRZ/FRS and that's a pretty ambitious goal especially considering that they are not far from introducing a BRZ STi (most likely a 2.0L turbo). I guess Nissan's strategy behind this the same as the Esflow concept; to continue to foster an interest in EVs in what's to come.

I kinda like the car. One thing that I see missing is side and rear view mirrors!? I guess because of the shape of the car the side view mirrors will not work. I'm not sure how a rear view mirror would work with the driver in the center of the car. I guess that they will probably have cameras and screens setup to take the place of the mirrors.

Nissan says they will release the BladeGlider in 2016.

A new concept like this 3 passenger is 50% better that a very limited 2 seat and more aero and efficient. I think it could take off. (pun intended)

jstack6 said:

Nissan says they will release the BladeGlider in 2016.

A new concept like this 3 passenger is 50% better that a very limited 2 seat and more aero and efficient. I think it could take off. (pun intended)

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Any idea if they will lease it at competitive rates like the Leaf, or focus on selling them? It would be hard enough for me to lease one - buying isn't an option.