Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd. (NISMO, Headquartered in Minami-Ooi, Tokyo, President: Shoichi Miyatani) successfully carried out the first test of the NISSAN LEAF NISMO RC at Tsukuba Circuit, Ibaraki prefecture on April 21st. The NISSAN LEAF NISMO RC is a purpose-built racecar and is based on the NISSAN LEAF, the world's first affordable mass market electric vehicle, unveiled at the New York International Auto Show on April 20th.

This test was the first ever run for the NISSAN LEAF NISMO RC on a proper racetrack. Tsugio Matsuda, who is participating in SUPER GT with GT500 NISSAN GT-R successfully completed all items on the test menu.

The machine that ran at the test had a different appearance to the one displayed in New York, with a bare full-carbon body as the car is still under development. As an electric vehicle, the machine made a distinctive sound on its run, heralding the advent of a new era in motorsport.

NISMO is planning further tests of the NISSAN LEAF NISMO RC going forward.

Test driver Tsugio Matsuda's comment:
"It was the first drive for the car on a proper racing course, but I got a really good feeling that the machine has already reached a high degree of perfection as a racing car. It has a lot of torque; a characteristic of electric vehicles, and acceleration out of corners is particularly impressive. Also, it produces downforce stably so has enough performance that top drivers can enjoy themselves. As operations in the cockpit is quite easy, the car is also ideal for amateurs. I felt that it would be really interesting to compete in races with the car."