Nissan revives 80s hatch with Leaf electrics

Celebrating Nissan’s 35 years of production in the UK where it once built the Bluebird, the carmaker has blended the old model with the future, creating an electric restomod concept car.

The reason for choosing the Bluebird from the Japanese maker’s back catalogue? It was the first model to come down the line at its Sunderland production site in 1986.

To create a heritage electric car, Nissan used the 40kWh battery pack and electric motor from the Sunderland-built Nissan Leaf, fitting the drivetrain into a used Bluebird.

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Given the unique nature of the build – completed by Kinghorn Electric Vehicles nearby - the battery pack had to be split into two parts and mounted in the engine bay (where the engine was removed) and boot. This gives better weight distribution than having all of the batteries in one location.

The charging socket is tucked away behind the car’s fuel filler door and has a maximum charging rate of 6.6kWh, with the charge shown on a small screen where the original fuel gauge was.

Despite the new powertrain, performance isn’t lightning quick. Nissan says the Leaf’s electric motor gives the Newbird a 0-100km/h time of 15 seconds, although the driving range of 210 kilometres is reasonable.

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Nissan also made a few cosmetic tweaks, including the bright eighties-themed graphics inspired by the design cues of 1980s consumer technology. A nice touch is the backlighting to the car’s front badge, which is rather contemporary.

While region-specific in its celebration, the Newbird helps the greater brand highlight Ambition 2030, which sees Nissan launch 15 new electric vehicles by 2030.

The first four of those concepts includes a lifestyle adventure SUV (Hang-Out), electric ute (Surf-Out), a single seater sports car (Max-Out) and the Chill-Out crossover.

Since 1986, Nissan’s Sunderland plant has produced more than 10.5 million cars. Staff numbers have grown from just 430 to over 6000, with 19 current team members remaining from when the original Bluebird rolled down the line.