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Nissan ZEOD RC stretches its legs for the first time

Ever see one of those videos where a baby deer is born and immediately starts walking? Well, this isn't one of those. For starters, the Nissan ZEOD RC isn't exactly a newborn. Nissan took the design of the DeltaWing, gave it a hybrid engine and called it something new. And it hardly started galloping straight out the box, either: this was just a low-speed demonstration run, held at Fuji Speedway where it debuted this past weekend.
Still, seeing the car that's destined to take the first lap of Le Mans under electric power alone actually start up and run is something of a landmark in the development of electric racing cars - even if this is, despite Nissan's best efforts to avoid the term, a hybrid, not a pure EV. The name stands for Zero Emissions On Demand, not zero emissions all the time. But then ZEATT wouldn't make for a very good name anyway, would it? See for yourself in the video below.

Nissan confirms what's in the box

While there were few doubts about what could've been hiding under the giant cardboard box being transported on a flatbed truck earlier this month, Nissan has officially confirmed that it was, in fact, a Versa Note being delivered from Amazon.
As a part of the special promotion, online shoppers who bought a Versa Note using the retailing giant also received a $1,000 Amazon gift card. Scroll down to watch how the car was packaged and shipped as well as what the buyer did with all that cardboard.

Nissan shows off Le Mans Prototype, says it's world's fastest electric racer [w/video]

Nissan has announced plans and details around its upcoming all-electric racing car, the ZEOD RC. The Zero Emission On Demand Racing car is said to be capable of a top speed in excess of 300 kilometers per hour (186.4 miles per hour), is shaped a bit like the closed-cockpit version of the DeltaWing (albeit, to our eyes, better looking) and will make its debut in 2014 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This weekend, visitors to the race will have the opportunity to view the prototype near the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Nissan's ZEOD RC has been invited by Le Mans organizers to compete as the Garage 56 entry in next year's race; that's essentially a spot on the grid held for vehicles with new and/or cutting edge technology.
Short of announcing a partnership with Michelin to develop tires for the EV racecar, however, Nissan is mum on any kind of battery or motor specification for the ZEOD. The press release (below) offers a sense that the Nissan and Nismo teams have still got a lot of work to do before the 2014 race. Ben Bowlby, designer of the ZEOD RC, says "We have many options to consider and test. The test program is part of a longer term goal of developing a system and a set of rules for this type of technology in partnership with the ACO that would be best suited to competing at the highest level of this sport."