Bluebird becomes Newbird in Leaf EV conversion
Marks 35 years since opening of UK plant now home to Leaf
Nissan‘s marking 35 years at its Sunderland, UK, plant by transforming a 35 year old car into an electric using Leaf parts to showcase the future of the plant.
The Nissan plant has built more than 10.5 million cars since September of 1986, and 19 of the current 6,000 staff have been there the whole time. But this isn’t about the plant, this is about the Nissan Newbird.
An original 1986 Nissan Bluebird was taken to Kinghorn Electric Vehicles, a small outfit about 15 miles from the Nissan plant who spends their time converting classics into EVs using second-life Nissan Leaf parts like motors, inverters, and batteries.
A Leaf driveline including 40 kWh battery pack was dropped in, with the company splitting the battery pack into the engine bay and the trunk to help it fit. A new suspension handles the extra weight and the mechanical systems were all updated to use electric power.
Nissan estimates the car will run about 210 km on EV power and will hit 100 km/h in just under 15 seconds. Slow, but probably not far off of the original.
Then Nissan’s London-based design team created a graphic scheme designed to look wonderfully ’80s and combined with a modern aesthetic. So here’s to more classics getting modern EV drivelines, making them easier to own 35 years down the road.
