EV concept gets ‘drift’ mode

Meet Nissan’s sporty new three-seat BladeGlider, the first EV car to feature a ‘drift’ mode.

The concept behind it was introduced in 2013 – central driving position with two passenger seats set behind and to the side of the driver.

Nissan went on to visualise unprecedented driving exhilaration from BladeGlider gliding thanks to hushed electric powertrain and DeltaWing contour performance.

The power is metered between the two motors via torque vectoring to ensure any understeer from that narrow front end is kept in check. It comes in three types: ‘off’, ‘agile’, and ‘drift mode’.

Its doors could be described as high waisted and scissorlike, while an integrated roll-over protection structure reinforces its open roof.
Wheel-mounted controls for its systems feed into a display showing speed, state of battery charge, regeneration mode and a torque map. Flanking the central display are two screens, with images of rear-view cameras mounted just behind the front wheels – instead of traditional wing mirrors.

Britain has played its part too, with Williams Advanced Engineering providing the powertrain – a spin-off of the F1 team. The top speed is described as in excess of 118mph, while 0-60mph takes less than five seconds. Only the rear wheels are driven, each one getting its own 130kW motor.