Nissan teases plug-in hybrid Le Mans racer [Video]

Nissan has published a teaser video that previews a hybrid race car that will make its competition debut at the 2014 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  The car will compete as Le Mans' Garage 56 entrant, a slot reserved for a technologically-innovative cars that do not comply with the general rules and regulations of the race.

Previously thought to pack an all-electric drivetrain, the yet-unnamed car will electrify Le Mans with a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid setup that will enable it to race on electricity alone for a short period of time.  Nismo, Nissan's performance and racing division, is designing the car jointly with Ben Bowlby, the man who penned the DeltaWing racer that participated in the 2012 edition of the grueling race.  

Nissan's upcoming racer will act as a rolling display case for its expertise in the field of technology and alternative drivetrains.  The body is essentially finished but engineers are still fine-tuning the drivetrain to make it as efficient as possible without sacrificing speed.  

"The final configuration of the drivetrain is still up for discussion, but we have made significant progress," explained Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer in an interview with England's Autocar magazine.  "What is absolutely clear is that that we have to be in a position to showcase electric technology and we have to have a car that is as visually arresting as the DeltaWing." 

Look for more precise technical details about Nissan's hybrid race car to emerge over the next few weeks.  It will make its public debut on June 21st, two days before the 2013 edition of the 24-hour race kicks off in France.