Nissan unveils Ariya Single Seater Concept tearaway

The manufacturer has taken the SUV shell off of one of its planned 2022 releases and got serious with the streamlining

The Nissan Ariya Single Seater Concept: ready to roll. All photos: Nissan

The design team wanted to make the Single Seater Concept look like it had been shaped by the air itself.

Comparing the Single Seater Concept with certain versions of the Batmobile would not be inappropriate.

The Nissan Ariya SUV, which features the same powertrain as the Single Seater Concept.

The Single Seater Concept takes many design cues from its SUV sibling.

The original Nissan Ariya has a little more room inside the cabin than the Single Seater Concept.

The Single Seater Concept has an all-electric powertrain, dual motors and an all-wheel drive system.

An SUV, it is not.

An early design sketch of the Nissan Ariya.

An early design sketch of the first Nissan Ariya SUV gives a new meaning to minimalist.

The Single Seater Concept was designed to show what the Ariya's drivetrain could do in a lightweight body shell.

The Single Seater Concept could be a track-day option of the future.

Nissan has unveiled a nifty little demo vehicle, but don’t get any ideas about it being something you could take your mates to brunch in.

The newbie goes by the name of the Ariya Single Seater Concept and, by the images the manufacturer has released, it looks to be competing with a Formula One racing car for roominess, or lack thereof.

If the Ariya name rings a bell, you may have seen the all-electric crossover vehicle that Nissan revealed in 2020 and which is due to go on sale towards the end of 2022. The purpose of the Single Seater Concept is to show the performance potential of the powertrain when it has been freed from a heavy-metal 4x4 skin.

They're being coy about the actual performance figures of this lightweight version, but it's safe to assume they'll be impressive – figures from Nissan reveal the heavier SUV version will get to 100 kilometres per hour in 5.1 seconds, so the Single Seater Concept should be plenty faster than that.

Design cues from the Ariya SUV can be seen across the Single Seater Concept.

An electrified and illuminated V symbol, which will be familiar from Nissan’s current road cars, is a prominent feature on the front of the car.

Looked at from the side, Nissan says inspiration has been taken from the Ariya SUV’s “fluid and efficient surfaces, exaggerated to a maximum in carbon fibre”.

The design team were keen to show that the final shape would make onlookers think it had a form that looked like it was shaped by the air itself.

Nissan’s participation in the Formula E World Championship also played a key role in inspiring the Single Seater Concept.

In fact, Tommaso Volpe, the manufacturer’s global motorsports director, thinks the vehicle nails it for speed and performance, saying the Single Seater Concept is “a powerful demonstration of just how thrilling electric vehicles could be”.

No word, of course, on how much such a vehicle would cost if it was released, or when such an event might happen as prototype vehicles frequently never get built. The car has the look of a useable track-day vehicle though, so you may well see it competing with the usual cluster of Caterham Sevens down at your local circuit yet.