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Nissan Ariya Single Seater Concept.

Nissan will launch electric all-wheel drive in Formula E and to the moon.

At the end of November, Nissan unveiled its new Ambition 2030 strategic plan, which promises 15 new production electric cars and eight hybrid models.

But in fact there will be even more «electric cars,» because the Japanese are planning to use their e-4orce powertrains not only in passenger cars, but also in motorsports and even in space.

The proof is a new car for the factory Formula E team and a lunar rover developed together with the «Japanese Roscosmos» JAXA.

Nissan Ariya Single Seater race car is still presented in the status of a concept car, and about its stuffing nothing specific is reported, so that kinship with the road electric crossover Ariya is reduced to the name and some details in the design.

However, if you remember that the FIA just a few days ago presented the concept of the new technical regulations for the «electroformula» season 2023, it will be clear that the transfer of Nissan technology from passenger cars in the race could be much wider than before.

First, the new Formula E will become all-wheel drive. Today’s regulations stipulate only one engine and rear-wheel drive.

In this case, the chassis, battery and tire in all teams the same, and engine-generator — own development. In the upcoming regulations the degree of unification will not change much, the supplier of the chassis is the French company SRT (Spark Racing Technology).

Batteries instead of the company McLaren will provide Williams Advanced Engineering, and now the battery must weigh by 26% less (maximum 284 kg) and during the race will be allowed rapid recharging.

But motor-generators will appear on both axles — the front, unified, (produced by SRT) of 250 kW (340 hp) and rear, in-house design, at 350 kW (476 hp).

Obviously, Nissan will be able to apply in the new car its developments in control of electric four-wheel drive, as it is done in the crossover Ariya with the system e-4orce.

We shall remind that the serial Ariya has both front-wheel drive versions (capacity from 218 to 242 hp), and all-wheel drive ones with two electric motors with cumulative capacity from 279 to 394 hp.

Curiously, the full drive on the new Formula E defined the rejection of the rear mechanical brakes: according to the regulations in 2023, the traditional braking mechanisms will remain only at the front, and the deceleration of the rear wheels will provide only regenerative mode motor-generator.

The new cars will begin to arrive at the disposal of teams for the tests in the spring, but the whole racing season of 2022 Formula E will hold on machines of the old type.

Speeches team Nissan e.dams on machines of the current configuration can hardly be called a success: in the season ended this summer, they took tenth place among the 12 teams, although before they were vice-champions, both in the individual, and in the team standings. A racing Ariya is expected to help remedy the situation.

Nissan’s Lunar Rover, on the other hand, won’t hit its tracks until 2024. It, too, has all-wheel drive, but not with two, but with four motors — one on each wheel.

Such a vehicle could take part in the Artemis lunar project, led by the U.S. and joined by JAXA in late 2019.

The first landing was scheduled for 2024, and Japan’s role in the project was to develop a lunar vehicle that could reliably navigate a difficult surface.

Interestingly, in 2019, JAXA planned to develop a lunar rover in cooperation with Toyota, and at that time even published a sketch of a six-wheeled manned hydrogen vehicle, which, of course, was called the Lunar Cruiser.

In 2020, however, Nissan was involved in JAXA’s development, and eventually the unmanned four-wheeled rover would carry Nissan’s logo, and its all-wheel drive would be controlled by an e-4orce system similar to the one used by Ariya.