This Experimental Nissan Leaf With AWD and 502 LB-FT Is the Hot Rod EV We Want www.thedrive.com

Nissan has built an all-wheel-drive Leaf EV with power figures that'd put it head and shoulders above the hot hatchback competition...if it planned to put the thing into production.
Last week, Nissan demonstrated the car to press outside the Nissan Advanced Technology Center in Japan, where it explained that the prototype uses a twin-motor setup powered by the 62-kilowatt-hour battery from the Leaf Plus.
Together, they generate 304 horsepower and a monstrous 502 pound-feet of torque, all of it with the smooth delivery and instant response we've come to love about electric power.
So why has Nissan built an AWD Leaf if it has no apparent intent to sell such a vehicle?
"Soon, Nissan will launch a next-generation EV that will be a true breakthrough," said Nissan's Senior Vice President for Research and Advanced Engineering, Takao Asami.