Nissan unveils radical new Le Mans ZEOD racecar – well, digitally, anyway

Over the weekend at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nissan unveiled its 2014 Le Mans racecar, the ZEOD RC. And when we say, “unveiled” we mean Nissan introduced the idea, not the real car. As you can see in the video below, the ZEOD only exists in virtual reality – for now.

When it is actually built, the Nissan Zero Emissions On Demand (ZEOD) will be the fastest electric racecar in the world, capable of reaching speeds above 300kph – or 186mph.

Between now and next year’s race, Nissan will be testing several different electric powertrains before it decides on the final drive system.

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Nissan believes its latest Le Mans racecar will reshape people’s perception of electric vehicles. And why would Nissan want to do something like that? Because the Japanese automaker has a lot invested in the technology. It stands to make or lose a great deal of money, depending on how the future of EVs shakes out.

We’re going to withhold our full judgment of the ZEOD until we know more. For now, though, we’re intrigued. We’re not sold on the rather clinical-looking body style. Right now it looks like something a NASA designer penned in his sleep. Perhaps it’ll get jazzed up a bit more by the 2014 Le Mans faceoff.

Nissan’s high hopes for the ZEOD remind us a bit of the classic Steve Martin quote, “I want to be the all-being master of time, space and dimension. Then I want to go to Europe.”