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Alpine unveils N36 LMP2 car that will race in 24 Hours of Le Mans

This is the Alpine LMP2 competitor you'll see contesting European endurance races this year, including The 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Parent company Renault showed off the N36 racer at its atelier in Paris, the blue and orange a switch from the yellow, black and white livery Alpine wore last time it was seen in Le Mans way back in 1978 when it won the race.
The team will be run by Signatech-Nissan and the chassis will be powered by a Nissan engine. Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues will contest World Endurance Championship rounds throughout the year, they'll be joined by endurance and IndyCar veteran Tristan Gommendy for Le Mans and Paul-Loup Chatin as the team's reserve driver.
The Alpine N36 will get into its first test this week at Paul Ricard, then experience its first racing miles at the European Le Mans Series round at Silverstone on April 13. The press release below has the full scoop, the photos above have the past and present in high-res glory.

Nissan-Dongfeng's Leaf-based Venucia e30 EV goes on sale in China

Nissan's proverbial other shoe has dropped on the other side of the world. The Japanese automaker, along with Chinese company Dongfeng, has started selling the Venucia e30 battery-electric vehicle in the world's most populous country. How the sister vehicle to the Nissan Leaf will fare remains to be seen, but it's a pretty big bet. The companies certainly tested the model enough, very quietly running 300 trial vehicles a combined three million miles on China's roads. The result is a vehicle the companies say reduces operating costs by about 85 percent relative to gas-powered vehicles and can go 35 miles on a five-minute quick-charge. In China, the Venucia e30 retails for about $44,000, though that's before government incentives kick in. The car will debut with sales in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dalian, Wuhan, Tianjin, Zhengzhou and Hangzhou. The rest of the country gets access to the model next year. Nissan and its Chinese partner are probably hoping for the kind of success Nissan's has finally started to have with the Leaf in the US recently. Last month, Nissan moved 3,186 Leaf vehicles Stateside, a monthly record. Year-to-date US sales of the Leaf are up 34 percent from last year to 18,841 units. You can find more info on the e30 in Nissan's press release below. DONGFENG NISSAN LAUNCHES ITS FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC VEHICLE - Venucia `e30' offers trusted, affordable, pure EV experience for Chinese consumers - SHANGHAI, China (September 10, 2014) - Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Company (DFL-PV) today launches its first pure-electric vehicle model, "e30," from its local Venucia brand. With a five million kilometer pilot run across China completed prior to launch, e30 is trusted to bring Chinese consumers an enjoyable EV experience at affordable running costs. Its starting price is set at RMB 267,800 Venucia e30 Jun Seki, President of Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd. (DFL), Nissan's joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd., said, "With Nissan Global's advanced technology, sales experience and know-how of electric vehicle, the Venucia e30 has been locally developed through our careful studies about market situations and consumer needs in China. I am looking forward to seeing the Venucia e30 lead China's electric-vehicle market into the future and also to more development of new energy vehicles and the wide adoption of electric vehicles in China." e30 achieves an optimal balance between driving range, affordability and convenient charging.

Nissan Patrol modified for backseat drivers

The McLaren F1 is most famous for holding the production-car top-speed record for over a decade, but it also made a name for itself by being one of the only production cars with a central driving position, a feature that's extremely rare. But in the world of custom cars, anything can happen. We're not sure if Dubai-based shop King of Customs was inspired by McLaren or is poking fun at backseat drivers (perhaps the builder or the commissioner just has quite the imagination), but its custom fifth-generation Nissan Patrol (the foundation of the Infiniti QX80 in the US) sports utility vehicle takes the term "central-driving position" to the next level. In the Patrol's case, "central" means that the driver's seat and controls are located in the second-row seating area.
It's a pretty clean conversion - if pointless - and we have to wonder how safe it is to drive such a vehicle. The front seats are now passenger seats, and the front airbags have been taken out and replaced with screens, according to King of Customs' Facebook page. So if the driver's view outside is impaired and the SUV is involved in a crash, you'd better hope nobody is up front. The screens on the backs of the front-seat headrests at least provide views from the side-view mirrors via cameras, the shop claims.
Watch the video below, marvel at the extreme impracticality of it all and see the thing drive.