Case Study: Nissan Zeod RC

It would be hard to find a better showcase for innovation than the revolutionary Nissan ZEOD RC (Zero Emissions On Demand Race Car) which logged the first electric-only racing lap of the Le Mans 24 Hour circuit.

We developed and ran the experimental petrol-electric sports racer for Nissan as the famous race’s Garage 56 entry in 2014, in the grid slot reserved for a car that imaginatively employs new tech and doesn’t fit a conventional class.

For its break-through powertrain we blended a 400bhp 40kg three-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol engine – designed and built in-house at RML – with a pair of 110kW electric motors, fed by a 12.5kWh battery pack, the crucial electric components that enabled Nissan to rewrite the history books. Along the Mulsanne Straight, ZEOD RC reached more than 300km/h (186mph) on electric power alone.