► Aimed at disaster sites
► Bigger wheels, increased ride-height
► Mods carried out by RJN, a UK engineering firm
Thanks to its electric power and modest specs, the Nissan Leaf is framed as a city car – but a new concept aims to change all that. Called the Nissan Re:Leaf, this is the brand’s EV reimagined as an emergency vehicle rather than a urban run-around.
Beefed-up Leaf
Nissan says the new concept is aimed at response, recovery and resilience – three key factors in disaster preparedness – and it’s gained a number of modifications along the way. A roof-mounted LED bar sits on top of the Re:Leaf, while the ride height has been raised by 70mm to 225mm.
There’s now a sump guard to protect the bottom of the car, while track 90mm wider on the front and 130mm on the rear make it better at tacking uneven terrain. As you’d expect, it gets new 17-inch motorsport derived wheels, as well as custom wheel arches and mudflaps.
And inside?
The rear seats have been ripped out to provide a larger loading space, and the back of the car also features 32-inch screen and desk for use when the EV arrives at disaster. More interesting to normal people would be the Leaf’s ability to put out 230v for multiple devices.
There are three sockets in total; two weatherproof connectors on the exterior, and a domestic socket inside. The car should be able to power equipment such as an electric jack hammer, and LED floodlight – but that makes sense when you consider a 62kWh Leaf battery could charge an average UK household for six days.
