Renault-Nissan Alliance electric vehicles on the race track at Le Mans and Formula E

More and more drivers are switching to clean, convenient electric cars for everyday commuting. 

But what happens when you put zero-emission cars under the world’s most extreme… most punishing… most unforgiving conditions? 

 

This year, the Renault-Nissan Alliance will enter its electric vehicles in two epic races: 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s oldest endurance race, and the newly inaugurated Formula E World Championship, the highest class of competition for pure electric race cars.

 

Patrice Ratti, Managing Director, Renault Sport Technologies, Renault SAS: “People have the image of electric cars as not being very powerful, of not being very fun. Also there is a practical side which is range – how many kilometres can I drive my car…We will show that electric cars are fun and powerful and also we will help develop new technologies that will increase the range.”

 

First off the starting block: the Nissan ZEOD RC, or Zero Emissions on Demand Racing Car. With speeds of more than 300 km/h, the car is one of the fastest electric vehicles ever. ZEOD will participate in Garage 56, a Le Mans category reserved for vehicles that showcase new and innovative technology. In June, ZEOD will become the first car to complete an entire 13.6-kilometer lap on pure electricity. 

 

Jerry Hardcastle, General Manager, Innovation and Performance Projects, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.: “With ZEOD RC, we’ll run ten or eleven laps with a gasoline engine and all that time we will be generating electricity and charging up a battery on board. Then for the final lap of the stint we will actually cut the fuel and we’ll do a full lap using only the electric motor.”

Meanwhile, Renault will be participating in the new F.I.A. Formula E championship with the Spark-Renault car. This 100% electric single seater has been designed by Spark Racing Technology and Renault. 

 

The first Formula E Grand Prix will take place in September in Beijing. Ten cities on four continents will host events. Races last 45 minutes each. Cars will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds, with a maximum speed of 220 km/h!

 

Patrice Ratti, Managing Director, Renault Sport Technologies, Renault SAS: “It’s a fast car... The battery size is reasonable so the weight is not too high and we are going to optimize drag reduction, optimize the way the energy is used so it’s a very efficient program.”

 

Prince Albert II gave the Spark-Renault the royal seal of approval at a recent green tech event in Monaco. The prince is a big fan of renewable energy– and motorsports. 

Prince Albert II of Monaco: “It’s an incredible piece of technology. I have seen other models and other mock-ups but it is really exciting to see an electric powered mono-seater very close to what we know as Formula 1.”

 

Ultimately, the extreme constraints of the track force engineers to develop the lightest, most powerful and most efficient components. Engineers can then use the state-of-the-art technology improvements in the Nissan LEAF, Renault ZOE and other consumer cars.

 

Jerry Hardcastle, General Manager, Innovation and Performance Projects, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.: “We want to increase the energy density. We want to reduce the charging time. If we can develop those technologies on a race car, then we can take that technology and apply it to a road car and we will be able to improve the battery capability.”

 

The Alliance has sold more zero-emission cars than all automakers combined. Now its electric cars are taking pole position on the track. The future of motorsports is green – and very, very fast.