Nissan is celebrating 35 years of production at the Sunderland plant in the UK. To commemorate this occasion the Japanese automaker created a one-off electromod out of the UK-built Bluebird, calling it the Newbird. From the outside, the Nissan Newbird looks just like one of the 187,178 units of the Bluebird that came out of the Sunderland factory between 1986 and 1990. The only differences are the lack of exhaust pipes, the Newbird badge, some fancy striping on the bodywork, and the illuminated Nissan emblem on the grille.
Despite the visual similarities with the
Bluebird, big changes are hiding underneath the arguably bland bodywork of the
Newbird as you might have guessed already. That’s right, the engine and gearbox
have been replaced by a modern and fully electric powertrain borrowed from the
second-generation Nissan Leaf. The conversion was undertaken by the
Durham-based Kinghorn Electric Vehicles and included a second-life e-motor,
inverter, and 40kWh battery pack split between the engine bay and the boot for
better weight distribution.
Thanks to all that, the Newbird can
accelerate from 0-100 km/h in less than 15 seconds, while the
driving range is estimated to be around 209 km between charges. Those
figures are significantly worse than the production-spec Leaf but good enough
for a brick-shaped vehicle with used EV components. In order to support the
added weight of the battery pack, the Newbird was fitted with a custom
suspension. It also features upgraded power steering, braking, and heating
systems that are compatible with the electric powertrain. Another cool detail
is that the battery charge status is showcased through the fuel gauge on the
original instrument panel.
The one-off conversion was created for
show purposes and is not homologated for road use. However, it will be a nice
conversation starter at the Sunderland plant, where more than 10.5 million
Nissan vehicles have been produced since 1986. Today, the factory employs 6,000
people, up from the 430 workers that started 35 years ago. The automaker keeps
investing in the area, with the announcement of a flagship £1 billion (
