Nissan Esflow electric sports car concept debuts at Geneva Motor Show

The Esflow concept marks a further step in Nissan’s EV strategy. It’s a sports car designed from the ground up as a pure electric vehicle. It has two electric motors, each driving a rear wheel, powered by the same laminated lithium-ion battery packs used in the Nissan Leaf. In the Esflow the packs are located along the axis of the front and rear wheels – so centralising the mass of the car, and thus its rotation point, close to the driver’s hips. The batteries enable the car to travel over 240kms on one charge. Nissan says that the Esflow achieves 0-100km/h in under 5 seconds.

Dramatic exterior design

The composite body covers an aluminium chassis. Its long bonnet leads into a steeply raked, wrap around windscreen, the compact cabin placing the occupants right on the car’s centre of gravity. Its hunched arches over ultra-low profile tyres are reminiscent of Nissan’s sports car heritage.

The high waistline allows unobtrusive roll bars incorporated into the structure behind the seats to take the entire load of the car in the event of a roll over, negating the need for overly   thick, reinforced A-pillars and the blind spots they inevitably create.

Blue LEDs accentuate the futuristic lights slashed into the bodywork both front and rear. Where the Nissan Leaf’s protrusive headlights are used to guide airflow around the door mirrors, this is not needed on the Esflow as the mirrors have been replaced with minute rear view cameras at the base of its unobtrusive A-pillars.

Interior design

By far the heaviest components in modern cars’ interiors are the steel framed, thickly upholstered and increasingly motorised seats. In the Esflow the seats are sculpted into the rear bulkhead of the car, negating the need for a heavy frame. The fly-by-wire steering and pedals adjust electrically to the best spot to suit each individual driver’s size and preferred driving position.