The new Nissan Frontier is only available with a V6 engine, but the automaker has a sneak peek at what electric power can do in a small truck.
Nissan has rebuilt a 1987 Sunny compact pickup with the powertrain from a Leaf electric car for November's SEMA auto show in Las Vegas.
The right-hand-drive Japanese market truck is owned and was converted by Tommy Pike Customs in South Carolina in collaboration with Nissan for the show.
"I bought the Sunny Truck because I thought it was such a cool piece of Nissan history and heritage – especially when I saw it was a right-hand-drive model," shop owner Tommy Pike said.
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"Taking the unexpected step of converting the Sunny to electric power while wrapping it with the Brock Racing Enterprises livery felt like the perfect way to pay homage to Nissan's heritage and modern innovation."
Peter Brock's Brock Racing Enterprises was one of the first and most successful racing teams to field Datsun cars.
The build combines a 147 hp/236 lb-ft Leaf electric motor with the Sunny's original four-speed automatic transmission through a custom bellhousing adapter.
It is also been equipped with a 40 kilowatt-hour battery pack, widebody kit, the front suspension from a Nissan 240SX sports car, a heavy-duty rear suspension, modern Rotiform AeroDisc wheels and other upgrades to improve its street performance.
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Pike also turned one of Nissan's upcoming Ariya electric SUVs into a retro surfwagon with a wood paneling-style wrap, a lowrider suspension, whitewall tires on "smoothie" wheels and a rack equipped with two surf boards.
A very different Ariya will be driven to the literal polar opposite of a California beach next year as adventurers Chris and Julie Ramsey attempt to be the first to drive from the North Pole to the South Pole in one converted by Iceland's Arctic Trucks.
