Nissan is no stranger to racing, but you won’t find many of its vehicles on the rally stage – not in the WRC, nor in the Global or World Rallycross Championships neither. But it has converted one of its cars for a rally this summer. And while it’s a hatchback, it’s not the Micra, Note, or Pulsar you might expect.

Set to take part in the Mongol Rally this year is the Leaf, if you can believe it. Called the Leaf AT-EV (for All Terrain Electric Vehicle), it’s based closely on the road-going model, but has been modified extensively for the purpose.

So instead of low-rolling resistance rubber, it wears Speedline SL2 Marmora wheels shod with Maxsport RB3 rubber. The suspension has been raised, the underbody reinforced, the brake lines braided, the rear seats removed, and a roof rack has been fitted 16,400 lumens of auxiliary lighting. Otherwise the Leaf AT-EV is essentially the same vehicle as the ones you’ve seen plugged in at your local charging station.

The vehicle is being fielded by Plug In Adventures, with modifications carried out by RML Group. The motorsport engineering firm that has a long history of collaborating with Nissan: RML built the Juke-R and a bonkers V6-powered Micra R concept, developed numerous Nissan touring cars, the engine for the DeltaWing, and the subsequent ZEOD RC.

Look for it to make the 10,000-mile journey from the UK to Mongolia this summer, when it will face not only the challenge of overcoming difficult terrain, but of finding charging points along the way as well.

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