Nissan
BladeGlider Concept
The
BladeGlider features a radical chassis layout that incorporates an extra-narrow
front track and a super-wide rear track to accomplish impressive aerodynamic
performance. The tiny frontal area reduces drag, while a complex system of
underbody diffusers manages to add just enough downforce to keep the car on the
road. For those wondering how the BladeGlider changes direction with those
skinny, close-quartered front wheels, which carry just 30 percent of the car’s
weight.
The
BladeGlider wears as normal a shape as we imagine possible given the
restrictive chassis layout. Instead of looking like a four-wheeled colonoscope,
it essentially is a three-dimensional wedge, its glider-inspired shape
triangular in both cross-section and plan.
The
BladeGlider features near-real-world practicality thanks to a pair of passenger
seats mounted behind the centralized pilot’s chair. The interior is especially
neat, and is accessible via a set of upward-swinging semi-butterfly doors.
Facing the driver is an aircraft-style control yoke/steering wheel and
futuristic-looking blue-tinted displays. The rear seats appear to be embedded
into the BladeGlider’s carbon-fiber chassis tub, Ã la LaFerrari’s.
The
independently powered rear wheels allow for torque-vectoring capabilities, as
well as improved vehicle packaging. Our guess is that if this car ever were to
reach production, the in-wheel motors might be among the first things to be
tossed. Regardless, the electric motors are fed by a lithium-ion battery pack
that Nissan describes as being similar in design to the unit in the production
Leaf.
