Nissan hints at Nismo-inspired higher performance all-electric vehicle

EV enthusiasts are patiently (or not) awaiting some more details on Nissan’s rollout for its next generation electric vehicles, and more specifically on the upcoming 60 kWh battery pack that will power the next LEAF. Now the company is hinting at more performance electric vehicles coming to its lineup.

While talking with UK’s Car Magazine about an upcoming performance EV, Gareth Dunsmore, director of EV Nissan Europe, referenced the Nissan’s old Leaf Nismo RC concept car as a hint of what could be coming from the company with the next generation electric vehicle platform. Dunsmore said:

‘We had the Leaf Nismo RC as a one-off prototype and it shows where the vehicle’s spirit could go, […] ‘I was part of the team that brought Nismo to Europe on Juke and I was very proud to do that – we learnt a lot working very closely with our Nismo colleagues,’ he added. ‘In Japan we have a special-edition Leaf called the Leaf Aero Style, which is a more sporty package. One thing we certainly need to do is challenge perceptions and that’s also what Bladeglider is here to do – to challenge those perceptions.’

Unveiled earlier this month, BladeGlider is Nissan’s new 268HP EV prototype with McLaren F1-type seating. The concept also featured an interesting long suicide-doors concept:

As for the Leaf Nismo RC concept, it was unveiled in 2011 and not much came of it – though Nissan released a special-edition ‘Leaf Aero Style’ just for the Japanese market that was inspired by Nismo, Nissan’s in-house performance tuning company.

Nissan is expected to release more information about its EV plans later this year.