How do you combine the Nissan Leaf’s impressive electric car technology with the big Nissan Navara pickup — a vehicle that certainly can’t be powered by the Leaf’s drivetrain?
Answer — bung the Leaf’s batteries in the back of the Navara and use them to provide a zero carbon mobile power source to support all-terrain search and rescue operations. Nissan reckons the combination of zero carbon mobile power and a capable pickup could prove a winning one.
The Nissan Navara EnGuard all-terrain rescue pickup concept vehicle
To test the waters, the Japanese firm has devised the Navara EnGuard concept, which it describes as the “ultimate all-terrain rescue pickup”. On display at last week’s 2016 Hannover Motor Show in Germany, the Navara EnGuard is designed to operate as a base for life-saving operations in harsh environments.
Based on a Double Cab Tekna version of the Nissan Navara, the Navara EnGuard Concept is also packed with equipment suitable for emergency and disaster recovery work, including an advanced drone to provide vital intelligence about what dangers rescue crews might face.
The prototype portable battery pack fitted to the Navara EnGuard is based on the battery system used in the Nissan LEAF electric car and e-NV200 electric van. With more than 250,000 Nissan electric vehicles sold globally to date, the firm can lay claim to a fair level of expertise in this sector.
The batteries are kept permanently under charge when they’re docked in the pickup’s bed and the Navara’s 2.3-litre turbo diesel engine is running. Each power pack is rated at 2kW and contains seven Nissan EV battery modules inside a weather-proof aluminium housing.
Built into the load bed is the power pack plus storage for a wide range of rescue equipment.
This substantial power reserve can be accessed through five output sockets on each battery pack. Nissan says the power available would be suitable for specialist cutting or heavy-lifting equipment. The power pack has been designed specifically to provide a zero emission alternative to a petrol generator.
Occupying the rest of the space in the load bed are two pull-out fibreglass trays. The shallow upper tray contains lightweight items such as two-way radios, ropes and an axe. The lower tray is deeper and narrower, storing larger items such as an oxygen tank and resuscitation kit, life jackets and buoyancy aids.
Key to the car’s rescue role is a drone, a DJI Phantom 4 with an operating ceiling of 6,000 metres. Weighing just 1,380 grammes, it can fly at speeds of up to 20 metres per second for close to 30 minutes and can relay images back to the concept car. These are viewed on a pop-up HD screen hidden in the load bed wall.
A drone is provided to enable rescue crews to conduct aerial searches using the drone’s onboard camera and a display fitted in the load area.
The Navara EnGuard also boasts raised and upgraded suspension and a modified roofline with a fully-featured light bar. Fluorescent green was chosen as a highlight colour for the EnGuard due to research showing that this is the most visible colour in daylight.
This well-specified model is still a concept and I suspect it will remain so. But Nissan is raising the profile of proven technology which could easily make it onto the option list of future pickup and van models.