When the era of electrified light cars had only begun, Nissan positioned the Leaf as a utilitarian and cost-saving vehicle for urban driving, not really remarkable in terms of power or acceleration. SuperfastMatt felt it could use a power-up, and the result came out amazing.
The original idea was to simply stuff a Kawasaki ZX10R engine into the car, ending with a brisk homegrown PHEV. The first obstacle was the battery, which exhausted most of its capacity and was only good for 40 km (25 miles) of range. The second problem was the body of the car, which lacked a rigid structure at the back suitable for mounting an engine.
In the end, Matt managed to install the engine using parts salvaged from a Lexus IS350. He also sourced the axles from that car, and also procured some parts from a Ford Mustang and a Nissan 370Z. We suspect the build cost him a pretty penny, but the result was a Leaf that had 284 PS (280 hp / 209 kW) at its disposal and roared like a racing bike when the engine revved up to 13,000 RPM. It can still go all-electric and bump-start the engine when needed.
Watch the 10-minute video for an in-depth look at this wonderful project.