Nissan gears up to set records at Goodwood

[EH 370z]

NISSAN has revealed its plans for next week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed and they are bound to cause a stir with spectators.

 

Record breakers?

The firm will be setting out to claim two records at the West Sussex event (July 1-3) and it will be the LEAF and Juke that set them.

 

The Nissan LEAF, 2011 Car of the Year, will attempt to become the fastest car ever to be driven up the famous hill climb course – backwards.

 

Unlike petrol-powered cars, in which reverse gear allows only low speeds, the LEAF has an electric powertrain that, theoretically, enables it to be driven backwards as fast as it can go forwards.

 

This means the car has a potential reverse top speed of 90mph – the only modification to the LEAF will be the removal of an electronic feature which prevents high-speed reversing.

 

Nissan will also makes its first attempt at a two-wheeled record up the Goodwood Hill, with the Juke aiming to become the fastest four-wheeled machine to climb the entire course using just two wheels (On it's side).

 

Professional stunt driver, Terry Grant, will be the man attempting to set the records in the LEAF and Juke by performing the stunts once every day.

 

‘I’ve experienced Goodwood before but never attempted to set a new record,’ said Grant. ‘To have the chance to grab not only one but two records at the same event will hopefully provide everyone with a very entertaining spectacle.’

[EH 370z]

Nissan forced to pull reversing stunt from Festival of Speed

 

NISSAN was forced to pull its record breaking LEAF stunt from the Goodwood Festival of Speed over safety fears.

 

The manufacturer was aiming to set the fastest time for a car going backwards up the famous hill.

 

Because the Nissan LEAF is an electric vehicle and has a continuous variable transmission, it can theoretically travel at the same speed backwards as it can forwards.

 

However, the stunt was pulled at the last minute over safety fears. A spokesman for the manufacturer said lack of testing on the circuit prior to the event forced the plug to be pulled at the eleventh hour.

 

Nissan said it still hoped to break records with LEAF and would be testing the electric car at Goodwood this week for a possible re-run next year.

 

‘We still want to break records with the LEAF,’ said the spokesman. ‘The fact it can travel at speeds up to 90mph backwards is too good an opportunity not to exploit. The car does have to be modified for this to be possible though, so there are safety issues we need to overcome first.’

 

I would have paid to see a Leef at 90mph backwards