Nissan confirms it's planning a Nismo next-gen Leaf

A few weeks ago we brought you renderings of a Nismo performance version of the second-generation Nissan Leaf, complete with a lowered suspension, larger wheels, wider body and blue accents along the undercarriage. That's our rendering, above. It now appears that car will become reality as shown here:

At the Nissan Futures event in Oslo, the automaker showed an image of its Leaf Nismo Concept to strengthen the EV's appeal to younger buyers, Autocar reports. It's meant to preview a final design that will go into production, and it will reportedly make its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show, which starts Oct. 25.

The Nismo Leaf concept keeps most of the features of Autoblog's rendering, including the black roof, but it adds some black to the hood and swaps the blue trim for red. No other details for the car were released, but it's reasonable to expect it to add some oomph to the Leaf's standard driving experience.

The 2018 Leaf ramps up the power over its predecessor, with 147 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, compared to 117 horses and 187 lb-ft from the current model. It will also feature a 40 kWh battery pack that'll get you 150 miles on a charge, up from 30 kWh and 107 miles of range. Nissan will release an "e-Plus" version with more power, a higher batter capacity and an expected range of 225 miles for the 2019 model year. The 2018 version goes on sale starting today in Japan and in the U.S. early next year.

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