Nissan is weighing up an ambitious plan to harness its Formula E expertise to shape the next era of high-performance electric vehicles – with potential prototypes set to lay the groundwork for future Nismo-badged road cars.
In an interview with Autocar, Tommaso Volpe, head of Nissan’s Formula E squad, confirmed that internal discussions are ongoing regarding a potential collaboration between the Paris-based race team and the company’s in-house performance division, Nismo. The goal? To fast-track development of EVs that don’t just go the distance – but do so with thrilling pace and precision.
“Nothing is agreed yet,” Volpe clarified, “but we are considering a proposal to develop prototypes based on standard road-going chassis. These would act as testbeds for Nismo, allowing them to enhance the performance characteristics of electric cars.”
Nissan’s current EV performance offering is limited to the Ariya Nismo, a mildly warmed-up version of its electric SUV. However, senior executives have hinted at much bigger ambitions. Nissan product planning boss Ivan Espinosa previously spoke of “exciting plans” for a future line-up of Nismo EVs, including as many as four or five halo models to spearhead the brand’s performance push.
The proposed tie-up with Formula E could serve as a turning point. Until now, technology transfer between road and race EVs has mostly flowed in one direction – with learnings from production models, like the Leaf, informing race car software development. But that paradigm is expected to shift with the arrival of Formula E’s Gen4 cars in the 2026/27 season.
The Gen4 machines will pack around 800bhp from dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrains – nearly doubling the 469bhp output of today’s racers. More critically, they’ll mirror the drivetrain configurations increasingly found in road EVs, such as the Ariya’s e-4ORCE AWD system.
“This is where we’ll see the real crossover,” Volpe explained. “The performance and efficiency thresholds in Gen4 will be pushed to the limit. With all-wheel drive becoming standard in both racing and consumer EVs, there’s a huge opportunity for us to influence future Nismo products directly.”
The idea is to develop prototype mules that utilise race-bred twin-motor technology and advanced traction control strategies. These testbeds would serve not only as validation platforms but also as inspiration for future production models – potentially unlocking new levels of grip, torque vectoring, and energy management for Nissan’s electrified performance line-up.
According to Volpe, the Gen4 regulations themselves were co-shaped with this kind of synergy in mind: “There was strong pressure from Nissan and other OEMs to make AWD standard. It aligns perfectly with where the EV market is heading.”
While it remains to be seen whether these prototype collaborations will get the official green light, the direction of travel is clear: Nissan wants to fuse its motorsport DNA with its EV future, and Nismo is poised to benefit from the trickle-down of Formula E’s most cutting-edge tech.
If the plans proceed, enthusiasts could soon see Formula E-inspired Nismo EVs that blend race-honed dynamics with road-ready practicality – and potentially reignite the brand’s performance legacy in a fully electric form.
Source: Autocar