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Nissan releases Esflow details before Geneva show

Automaker reveals specs on the Esflow concept all-electric sports car to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi
2 min read

Nissan released a preview today of the Esflow, an all-electric sports car concept bound for the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

Via its European Web site, the automaker gave EV sports car enthusiasts a taste of what could eventually be a production vehicle.

The two-seater Esflow is unmistakably aimed to compete as a sports car with an ultra-low-profile aluminum chassis, a wraparound windshield, and roll bars incorporated behind each seat.

It's a rear-wheel drive car that contains two electric motors, each one mounted over the rear wheel it powers above the rear axis, according to Nissan.

Nissan Europe

The car was designed using the same lithium ion batteries as in the Nissan Leaf, but mounted very low and toward the center of the car. Nissan claims this change "centralizes the mass of the car, and thus its rotation point, close to the driver's hips."

The Esflow has a range of about 240 kilometers (149 miles) per charge, significantly more than the current Nissan Leaf which claims to get about 100 miles per charge. The all-electric 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport, for comparison, claims about 244 miles on a full charge, though CNET testing of the Tesla found its range to be between 150 to 200 miles.

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Nissan Europe

It can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers (62 miles) in 5 seconds, according to Nissan.

Other features include LED lights, LCD screens, and small rear-view cameras mounted near the car's side mirrors.

Along with its Esflow details, Nissan also released a storyboard-like scenario bizarrely insinuating that its EV sports car is for tech-minded single men.

"Daniel, an ESFLOW owner, works in tech, but lives for the weekend. On Friday night after work, he gets behind the wheels of his ESFLOW, which instantly links with his pocket PDA and determines the fastest route to his girlfriend's home. Finding street side parking is a [cinch] as the ESFLOW's compact dimensions allow it to slip in to the narrowest of spaces. On Saturday he drives to a popular club to exhibit his DJ skills and his friends are impressed by his cool EV sports car," according to an excerpt from Nissan's "Driver" description.