- Nissan showed off a stunning electric pickup truck with vintage looks.
- It's a 1987 Nissan Sunny pickup powered by parts from the brand's Leaf electric car.
Electric trucks are all the rage, with brand-spanking-new models on the market from Ford, Rivian, and GMC.
But you know what's arguably cooler than a shiny, new electric pickup? A vintage one.
That's exactly what $4 (SEMA) in Las Vegas. The Sunny Leaf project is a 1987 pickup with the guts of a modern Nissan Leaf.
It's meant to provide "inspiration as to how car enthusiasm can thrive in a future of electric vehicles," Nissan said in a press release. The pickup was built by South Carolina-based Tommy Pike Customs.
It's powered by the Leaf's motor, which delivers 147 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. That doesn't hold a candle to, for example, the 580 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque available in the Ford F-150 Lightning, but it's a whole lot more than the Sunny originally had. According to Nissan, the new electric restoration has twice the power and three times the torque of the Sunny's original four-cylinder.
The truck also retains the Sunny's manual transmission, which isn't typical of modern electric cars. They usually have just a single gear, so there's no shifting necessary. The Sunny gets numerous modifications, including a wide-body kit, LED lighting, and a new suspension.
As much as car companies have focused on developing new electric cars, they're also eager to be a part of electric restomodding (restoring and modifying) culture. For years, people have hacked together batter-powered classic cars in their garages. And a slew of new companies retrofit old cars with Tesla parts or off-the-shelf components.
Jeep brought an $4 to SEMA to showcase a future EV kit for vintage Jeeps. Last year, Ford $4 called the Eluminator. General Motors also plans to release an electric motor through its Chevrolet Performance division.