In 1971, Nissan made an electric ute with a 500km range…

Nissan’s world-record breaking utility trucks never got past the prototype stage.

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Electric vehicles aren’t exactly a new phenomenon. And neither are electric-powered pick-up trucks.

Japanese car maker, Nissan, was experimenting with EV light commercial vehicles 50 years ago, producing two versions of what it dubbed the EV4 or Experimental Electric Vehicle.

The two prototypes were the result of a 1971 government-sponsored project for the development of electric vehicles in Japan. Major manufacturers worked alongside government agencies, including the Industrial Science and Technology Agency and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in a project that some estimates put at a then $20 million investment.

Nissan delivered two protypes for evaluation, the EV4-P and EV4-H.

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The first, the decidedly futuristic looking EV4-P, was powered by a lead-acid battery system sending power to a DC motor, good for 27kW.

Thanks to its light-weight fibreglass reinforced plastic bodyshell, the EV4-P covered 302km on a single charge during an evaluation conducted by the Industrial Science and Technology Agency. It was, at the time, a new distance record for an electric vehicle on a single charge, even if it was set in control conditions with a. constant speed of 40km/h.

To hit the 40km/h mark took just 6.9 seconds, according to Nissan. The EV4-P’s top speed was rated at 87km/h.

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Those performance figures aren’t exactly earth-shattering, but a 300km range from a single charge in 1971, certainly was.

And then there’s the EV4-P’s undeniably funky design. That curvaceous cab-forward design wouldn’t look out of place on something designed for the space exploration, hardly surprising since the Space Race was in full swing, its adventurous spirit an inspiration to designers everywhere, not just of cars and trucks, but almost every imaginable consumer product.

The EV4-P wasn’t small either, measuring in at 4.69 metres long with a wheelbase of 2.48 metres. Payload was rated at 1000kg, on a par with today’s dual-cab utes. Drum brakes were fitted all ’round while the suspension set-up consisted of torsion beam up front and leaf springs at the rear.

Nissan took the idea of an electric ute one step further with a follow-up protype, the EV4-H. Improvements to technology saw Nissan utilise what it dubbed a ‘hybrid’ system that offered greater range from the high-energy-density zinc-air and high-output-density lead-acid batteries.

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Nissan described the ‘hybrid’ control system in the EV4-H in a 1973 brochure.

“This control system, when combined with an electric motor, provides remarkable efficiency: 78 per cent of battery energy is realized as motor output.

“The electronic components and safety circuits incorporated are the products of a joint development effort with Hitachi, Ltd., Shinkobe Electric Machinery Co., Ltd. and Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

“The zinc-air battery with an electrolyte circulating system is a high-density energy battery capable of generating 168V, 110Wh/kg and 400Ah (5 HR).

“A lead-acid battery capable of generating 120V, 50Wh/kg and 170Ah (5 HR) is employed when accelerating and decelerating.”

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The EV4-H also featured a regenerative braking system while further refinements to the body and chassis resulted in an even lighter utility vehicle than the EV4-P.

The end result of Nissan’s research and development was a pick-up truck capable of a world record 496km of driving range on a single charge.

Further, the batteries in the EV4-H could be easily removed and serviced or replaced. The zinc-air battery lived on a sliding tray housed in the side of the body of the EV4-H while the lead-air battery had its own sliding tray, this one housed at the front of the load area.

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Dimensionally, the EV4-H was similar in size to its predecessor, although Nissan had toned down the spacey design, in its place a more conventional looking truck.

Payload remained at 1000kg as did the drum brakes, but with the rears fitted with a “thyristor regenerative” system.

Top speed improved slightly to 90km/h but it was in acceleration the biggest performance gains were made, Nissan claiming a 0-40km/h sprint time of just 4.9 seconds, two seconds faster than its predecessor.

Nissan never intended either utility truck to reach production, instead using the government-sponsored project as a test bed for what could be achieved.

As per Nissan’s own words, “Although practical application of these prototypes will necessitate further R&D work and breakthroughs in technology, the excellent results achieved during the course of this project are certain to contribute a great deal to transportation systems of tomorrow.”

Fifty years later, and it appears “tomorrow” is almost upon us.

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