Currently reading: Nissan Leaf Open Car is one-off celebratory special roadster

100,000 Leafs have been sold in Japan since the electric car's launch in 2010, so Nissan has cut the roof off one to celebrate

A Nissan Leaf roadster concept, called the Nissan Leaf Open Car, has been created by the brand’s engineers to celebrate the electric car reaching 100,000 sales in Japan since its introduction in 2010.

The roof is gone, as well as (less conspicuously) the rear doors, and there appears to be no folding-roof mechanism, making it a sunny day-only car. In addition, the Leaf Open Car adopts a four-seat layout instead of sitting five as it does in hatchback form, with a bizarre, large rear seat. 

At the front and rear, however, it’s business as usual, and there are no reported changes to the car’s powertrain - an AC synchronous electric motor fed by a 40kWh battery pack. 

In hatchback form, the Leaf provides 177 miles of range on the WLTP testing standard, although due to aerodynamic drag this is likely to be diminished for the Leaf Open Car. All of the Leaf's regular features, including Propilot semi-autonomous driving and Propilot Park automatic parking, remain, however.

The car was revealed at a Tokyo forum attended by Nissan executives and government officials to discuss “zero-emissions society” as the car industry shifts to electric power. 

It comes the day after Honda’s Swindon plant revealed the Civic Type R Pickup Truck concept - a two-seat truck based on the Civic Type R hot hatch. Honda has suggested that it may take the concept to the Nürburgring to claim the front-wheel-drive truck lap record.

Read more: 

2018 Nissan Leaf Review

Updated Nissan X-Trail gets Propilot semi-autonomous technology

Honda Civic Type R Pickup Truck concept revealed

Best convertibles: seven of our favourite performance models

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Peter Cavellini 25 May 2018

Better looking......?

 Erm eh, I kind of like it, why? I don’t know......

catnip 25 May 2018

Why would you produce

Why would you produce something like this as a celebration?

typos1 25 May 2018

A wasted opportunity - it

A wasted opportunity - it looks ridiculous with that rear seat. The "zero emissions society" is a complete load of old uncientific marketing crap - we wont get there until we can fully harness the sun's emense energy and thats many decades away, the "lower emissions society" is more scientifically accurate. Cue XXXX banging on about Norway . . .

xxxx 25 May 2018

Are you inviting a response

Are you inviting a response because you don't get enough attention in day to day life?  Go and get a life!

Luap 25 May 2018

xxxx wrote:

xxxx wrote:

Are you inviting a response because you don't get enough attention in day to day life?  Go and get a life!

 

Grow up.