Nissan vowed to the world this week that they will return to the 24 Hours of LeMans in 2014 with an all-electric vehicle according to Wired.
During a ceremony at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, Carlos Ghosn, the president and CEO of Nissan, stated that company is very determined to return to what many consider to be the "world's greatest road race" with a vehicle the company has never used before during a race.
"We will return to LeMans with a vehicle that will act as a high-speed test bed in the harshest of environments for both our road car and race car electric vehicle technology," Ghosn said according to Wired.
The company last competed at LeMans in 2012 where its DeltaWing race car held its own against the top prototype teams before being bumped off the track by a Toyota. The vehicle had to be taken off the track according to Wired.
The company has yet to reveal more details of Nissan's experimental endeavor, but that they will be returning to Garage 56 at LeMans in 2014. Rumors have circulated though that it will be a zero-emissions vehicle based on the all-electric Lead RC race car.
Current battery and charging systems aren't designed to handle a race like LeMans, which would mean Nissan would have to think outside the box to develop something innovative to help the car last longer than any other electric vehicle.
"If we weren't trying to get Garage 56 every year, we wouldn't be innovative," said Darren Cox, Nissan's general manager in Europe. "That particular entry is put in place for the most innovative car that year. That's what we're all about. We're not about using it once and walking away from it. We really want to utilize that opportunity to show our innovation."
If they are successful at creating an electric race car, they will have to make sure its within regulation of the LeMans Prototype (LMP1)class.
Vehicles that make it to Garage 56 are often considered the most "innovative car" that year. This year's Garage 56 occupant is a hydrogen-electric race car from Green GT according to InsideEVs.com.
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