Nissan Leaf modified to create an all-electric rally vehicle

Off-road rally cars might be one of the last car segments that electric vehicles will take over, but it’s not from a lack of trying. Haye just wrote about Audi’s interest in creating the next-gen electric rally car and now we learn of a Nissan Leaf rally car.

The Leaf is clearly not the first car to come to mind when thinking about a rally vehicle, but electric vehicle advocate Plug In Adventures have modified a Leaf to enter the Mongol Rally and drive 10,000 miles (16,000 km) from the UK to Mongolia in summer 2017.

They used a 30 kWh Nissan LEAF Acenta, which they claim has a range of up to 155 miles  (250 km) with some weight reduction.

Here are a few more modifications made by RML Group:

“The LEAF AT-EV has been fitted with Speedline SL2 Marmora wheels and Maxsport RB3 narrow tyres, for better performance on unsealed roads. Welded plates to the underside of the wishbones, braided brake lines, mudflaps and a 6mm aluminium sump guard add further protection from rough terrain. A modified roof rack provides external storage and is fitted with a Lazer Triple-R 16 LED light bar to produce 16,400 lumens of supplementary low-voltage forward lighting during the remotest parts of the trip.”

Nissan made a quick video about the vehicle:

Chris Ramsey, founder of Plug In Adventures, said about the vehicle and the upcoming rally:

“The Mongol Rally is our most challenging electric vehicle drive to date, but it’s one we’ve been planning for a number of years. Not only will we face a dwindling number of EV chargers the further east we go, the terrain also becomes more difficult to navigate. Using a Nissan LEAF for this was an obvious decision though. I’m very familiar with the car, it’s always been reliable and dependable for me, and it has the largest network of rapid charging options in Europe. As it will also accept a 240v Commando connection even in the remote areas when my fast-charge options are gone, I can still charge the battery and keep moving. This journey is about the travel experience though, not reaching the destination in a fast time. I can’t wait to get out on the road and introduce more people to the advantages of electric vehicles, whatever country they’re from!”

He will be using What3Words platform so that people can follow him along the first all-electric attempt at the Mongol Rally.