► Ariya + Formula E car = this
► Shows off how EV tech can be made sporty
► Just a flight of fancy for Nissan’s design team
Nissan’s designers have been let off the hook, creating this wild sports car concept. It’s called the Ariya Single Seater, and it’s a very different kind of Nissan.
The brand says the Ariya Single Seater is designed to show how its new all-electric crossover’s powertrain would work in a different setting – in something much more sporty, aerodynamic and lightweight. Like the Ariya SUV, the Single Seater concept uses the brand’s e-4orce electric all-wheel drive system.
Design cues from the Ariya have been smashed into it, with the illuminated ‘V-motion’ grille and clean surfacing featuring. Carbonfibre, as you’d expect, is everywhere. But take a step back and it’s clear Nissan’s Formula E motorsport division has been a significant influence; this wouldn’t look out of place on the Battersea Park circuit of the electric racing car series.
‘Our EV programs inform our Formula E program and vice versa, allowing for road-to-track technology transfer as well as track-to-road,’ says Tommaso Volpe, Nissan’s global motorsport director.
Alfonso Albasia, Nissan’s senior vice president for design, says the Single Seater is ‘acting as a testbed for future technological evolution,’ and that it demonstrates ‘Nissan’s expertise in transferring knowledge and technology from the race track to the road.’
Still, it’s doubtful we’ll see anything beyond this as a concept car. Which is a shame.