TOKYO — Nissan's headliner at the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Auto Show will be the hugely significant all-electric Leaf compact that's slated for launch in late 2010. But Nissan will also have the Land Glider, a tiny, amusing tilting car concept that, like the Leaf, will be electrically driven.
Nissan sees the Land Glider as one idea for a future city EV commuter: fun and funky, easy to drive and park, taking up little road space and of course silent-running and emissions-free.
The Land Glider is spectacularly small — just 122 inches long and a mere 43 inches across — but seats two, tandem style, beneath a glass canopy. A pair of rear electric motors linked to an underfloor lithium-ion battery pack provide the drive.
Clever, but its pièce de résistance is the way its body and tires lean into bends (up to an angle of 17 degrees) to give you at least some of the sensation of riding a motorcycle. It's not a new idea, but Nissan has made it work pretty well.
Turn into a curve and an array of sensors check vehicle speed, steering angle and yaw rate to make an instant calculation on the angle of lean needed. Just turn the aircraft-style steering control and the cabin tilts to order.
But the Land Glider is not mere show pony. Nissan says the concept gives "a clear direction to how a future small car from Nissan could look in congested cities."
Inside Line says: Some fanciful ideas, many of which are close to reality on the roads. — Peter Nunn, Correspondent
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