Nissan is no stranger to racing, but you won't find
many of its vehicles on the rally stage – not in the WRC, nor in the Global or
World Rallycross Championships neither. But it has converted one of its cars
for a rally this summer.
Set to take part in the Mongol Rally this year is
the Leaf, if you can believe it. Called the Leaf AT-EV (for All Terrain
Electric Vehicle), it's based closely on the road-going model, but has been
modified extensively for the purpose.
So instead of low-rolling resistance rubber, it
wears Speedline SL2 Marmora wheels shod with Maxsport RB3 rubber. The
suspension has been raised, the underbody reinforced, the brake lines braided,
the rear seats removed, and a roof rack has been fitted 16,400 lumens of
auxiliary lighting. The Leaf AT-EV is essentially the same vehicle as
the ones you've seen plugged in at your local charging station.
The vehicle is being fielded by Plug In Adventures,
with modifications carried out by RML Group. The motorsport engineering firm
that has a long history of collaborating with Nissan: RML built the Juke-R and
a bonkers V6-powered Micra R concept, developed numerous Nissan touring cars, the
engine for the DeltaWing, and the subsequent ZEOD RC.
Look for it to make the 10,000-mile journey from the
UK to Mongolia this summer, when it will face not only the challenge of
overcoming difficult terrain, but of finding charging points along the way as
well.
