This is the Nissan Sparky, a odd one-off cross between the leaf EV as well as a Navara pick-up truck. It’s the brainchild of Roland Schellenberg as well as Arnold Moulinet, engineers at Nissan’s technical Centre in Stanfield, Arizona, as well as was established to transfer people as well as supplies around the 3,050 acre on-site proving grounds.
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“I needed a job for a team building activity so we can bring the team together,” explained Schellenberg. “We had a requirement for a truck. Something to drive around, a shop truck.”
The concept was one thing, building it [turned out to be] a bit a lot more complicated, as well as took months of work as well as planning, as Moulinet noted: “After he [Schellenberg] told us it was going to be the leaf that would redo, I went house as well as stayed up till like four in the morning making all type of styles of what would work.”
As you can see, the two-seater utilizes the basic LEAF’s interior, front end as well as powertrain, including a 107bhp electric motor driven by a 24kWh lithium ion battery, with the rear adapted to fit the Navara’s tons bay.
On a daily basis, Sparky is utilized around the low-desert terrain at Nissan’s test centre, a hot weather condition facility utilized to screen warm durability, engine cooling as well as air performance. It likewise includes a 5.7-mile high-speed oval as well as four private road programs created for durability, reliability as well as trip comfort checks.
“We tried to keep it a trick as well as be interesting for everybody,” adds Schellenberg. “But we have visitors as well as they come as well as see that truck as well as they go directly to ‘what is it?’ as well as they begin checking out it”.