Last year, Nissan announced it will embark on one of the longest, and coldest road trips ever to test the capabilities of the Ariya electric vehicle (EV). Together with British adventurer Chris Ramsey, the Ariya EV will travel approximately 27,000 km from the North Pole to the South Pole.
When they made their announcement, Nissan only released a rendering of what the adventure vehicle would look like. Now that we're inching closer to the start of the expedition, the Japanese manufacturer has finally revealed the Ariya EV, polar edition, in the metal.
Nissan tapped vehicle specialist Arctic Trucks to prepare the Ariya EV for the challenging environments ahead. Arctic Trucks modified the crossover's suspension and widened the wheel arches to accommodate the 39-inch BF Goodrich tires. In addition, since Chris Ramsay is a coffee aficionado, the Ariya EV was fitted with a built-in espresso machine, plus a drone landing pad on the roof.
Since there are no EV charging stations in the polar regions, an innovative portable unit was built for recharging the Ariya. The prototype is equipped with a wind turbine and solar panels to harness renewable energy from strong winds and long hours of daylight.
But when it comes to the Ariya's drivetrain, Nissan left the EV's e-4ORCE four-wheel-drive technology untouched together with the battery and electric motors, remaining the same as the production Ariya EV.
Chris Ramsay and his wife Julie will take on the expedition this March 2023 where they will begin the journey from the Arctic through North, Central, and South America before crossing to Antarctica.
