Niassan’s Electric Car

(treehugger.com) Nissan Expects to Produce 150,000 Electric Cars by 2012
On August 2nd, Nissan will unveil its new electric car in Japan, but in the meantime, we can have a look at the prototype that Nissan has been using to test their electric drivetrain. It’s based on the Nissan Versa, but the gasoline engine has been replaced by an electric motor developed in-house. It has a power rating of 80kW/280Nm (107 horsepower/206 pound-feet of torque). That’s a lot of torque for a car this size. Read on for more technical details and many more photos.

24kWh Li-Ion Battery in the Car’s Floor
The 24kWh battery is based on a lithium-ion chemistry, and it is located under the vehicle floor for “more efficient packaging”. This has three main benefits that I can see: 1) A lower center of gravity, 2) it doesn’t reduce cabin or cargo space, and 3) Nissan says that the “battery layout also allows smooth underfloor air-flow which helps reduce drag.” [via treehugger.com]