It all started with the Deltawing. The concept of a revolutionary race car, with a very narrow front track. Many people are still wondering how good it is, but Nissan’s internal tests should have been highly promising. The same architecture will be used in the ZEOD race car which will race in Le Mans next June. There may be a surprise there, and the general public has to be prepared for it, hence this BladeGlider concept. This is a show car, with the front track only half of the rear one, and it’s a 1+2.

Driver and passengers form a triangle, with the driver alone in front, and the passengers behind him (or her). Engineers see this arrangement as great in term of space utilization but sociologists may question it. If a couple is aboard, there might be an argument about who will have the privilege to sit in front… Then, there’s the big question of what’s it like to drive a car which has 70% of its weight over the rear wheels? Nissan has fitted in-wheel motors in this prototype, and without revealing any power figures, it says that the driving experience is close to the one from a race car.

At first sight, it’s difficult to imagine this concept evolving into a production model, but Nissan doesn’t rule it out. Much will depend on how successful the ZEOD will be at Le Mans’ 24 hours next year. If it manages to grab the headlines, Nissan should quickly seize the opportunity to bring that fame to the dealers. Looking back to all the crazy concepts Nissan has shown in the past (remember the Pivo that turned on itself?), this BladeGlider looks quite feasible. Without the huge removable roof and with normal doors, of course.