Stunt driver Terry Grant prepares for his record run in the Nissan Leaf.
Fifty-five miles an hour doesn’t sound like much these days, yet it was enough to land the Nissan Leaf a spot in the record books – the little battery-electric vehicle setting a record for driving in reverse.
But you could say that the maker did well both coming and going — setting a second record in a more conventional driving mode, as well, during the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Professional stunt driver Terry Grant beat his own previous record on Sunday launching backwards up Goodwood Hill averaging a cool 55 mph.
“There were times I wasn’t sure I was coming or going. However, thanks to the LEAF’s low center of gravity – the batteries are an integral part of the car’s floor – the car is extremely stable, no matter which direction it’s traveling. The only complaint I have is slight neck ache from constantly looking over my shoulder,” said Grant, who recorded an earlier record at Goodwood driving a Nissan Juke up the hill on two wheels last year.
Nissan has been burning rubber – but not much else – with the Leaf trying to prove the battery car’s potential. It won its class in the Pike Peak International Hill Climb in 2011. (It was also the only car in its class, though there are a number of electric vehicles entered into the now-postponed climb this year.)
Meanwhile, FIA GT1 champion Michael Krumm set another record driving the specially designed Leaf Nismo RC concept vehicle up Goodwood Hill. He did that facing forward, incidentally.
The latest records were set as part of Nissan’s new social media campaign, “The Big Turn On.” The Japanese maker is in the midst of expanding distribution of the Leaf to Europe even as it prepares to ramp up production in the U.S. with the launch of an all-new battery-electric assembly line in Smyrna, Tennessee.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed saw a number of new electric-powered entries this year, including a running version of the Lotus Evora Hybrid, as well as the Infiniti Emerg-e, a running version of the Nissan luxury brand’s own battery concept vehicle. The Emerg-e came to life using a Lotus electric drivetrain.