Nissan’s premature exit from Le Mans couldn't damper its history-making efforts of hitting 300km/h on the Mulsanne Straight and recording a complete lap of Le Mans on purely electric power.
The Nissan ZEOD RC electric prototype hit its first target during Thursday night - fittingly in the hands of Japanese driver Satoshi Motoyama - when it clocked over 300km/h before the first chicane on the Mulsanne Straight.
The next objective for the Zeod was to complete an an entire (8.5-mile) lap of Le Mans on pure electric power. This time, GT Academy winner Wolfgang Reip did the honors - achieving the seminal moment during the Saturday morning warm-up.
Reip started the race aboard the ZEOD RC but only completed five laps before losing drive in the Zeod. A suspected gearbox issue cited as the reason for the early retirement.
“They say that life is a rollercoaster but certainly motorsport takes this to the next level. Just today we’ve had massive highs followed by a temporary low,” said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO.
“It has been an amazing experience for everyone that has been involved. I hope everyone who was worked on the project and put in so many hours will remember the high when the car completed its electric lap of Le Mans.”