Nissan Celebrates 70 Years Of Electric Vehicles With Bladeglider At Goodwood Festival Of Speed

July 4, 2017 by Nissan

•2017 sees Nissan celebrate 70 years since its first EV was launched

•Latest and most exciting EV – Nissan BladeGlider – takes centre stage at Goodwood

•NISMO athlete Lucas Ordóñez become first pro racing driver to experience BladeGlider

•Thrilling track session on historic Goodwood Motor Circuit showcases potential of all-electric sports cars

•See Lucas in action at https://youtu.be/IbaSwhKIYHk

PARIS, France (July 3, 2017) – Exactly 70 years after the debut of its first electric vehicle (EV), Nissan's most advanced EV ever – the Nissan BladeGlider sports car – has taken centre stage at Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The 100% electric prototype spent Friday and Saturday in the thick of the action, with electrifying performances on the famous Hillclimb course.

The culmination of the weekend was a Sunday test session on the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit. Putting the all-electric BladeGlider through its paces was NISMO athlete Lucas Ordóñez, who becomes the first professional racing driver to take the wheel of the three-seater.

Nissan's EV success story began in 1947 – exactly 70 years ago – with the launch of the Tama. This pioneering four-seater EV was available as a passenger car and a van, and offered customers a range of 65km on a full charge. It was initially developed by the Tokyo Electro Automobile Co Ltd, which later became part of Nissan.

Since the debut of the Tama in 1947, Nissan has established a rich heritage in zero-emission technology as the world leader in EVs. It pioneered the EV revolution with the launch of world's first mass-market 100% electric passenger car – the Nissan LEAF – in 2010. The new second-generation LEAF will make its world premiere on 6 September.

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Ordóñez, a former winner of Nissan's GT Academy competition to turn computer gamers into racers, was thrilled by the opportunity to test-drive the BladeGlider.

He commented: 'Driving the BladeGlider round the famous Goodwood Motor Circuit has been a fantastic experience. It's such an exciting car to drive, with so much torque from the moment you start. It's great fun on a fast track like this, and so quick through the corners.'

The BladeGlider's debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed helped showcase the Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision of a more confident, more connected and more exciting future for the brand's models. The zero-emission prototype also supports Nissan's #ElectrifyTheWorld movement, which is dedicated to harnessing conversations around sustainable energy use.

The BladeGlider was created to demonstrate the potential of a pure electric powertrain to satisfy the dynamic and performance needs of sports car enthusiasts. It has been developed by Nissan in association with its technical partner for the project, UK-based Williams Advanced Engineering.

See Lucas in action at https://youtu.be/IbaSwhKIYHk