Needing the right tool for the job often requires ingenuity. That’s exactly the case at Nissan’s Stanfield, Arizona proving grounds. The team of engineers needed a truck-like vehicle to haul test gear, but something that got great gas mileage around the 3,050-acre complex.

Meet Sparky, the wild idea a few Nissan->ke62 engineers cooked up while trying to solve the dilemma. The team started with a stock Nissan LEAF, the all-electric hatchback->ke304 and combined it with several parts scavenged off a Nissan Frontier pickup. The combination is something of a Frankenstein, but it gets the job done.

Not using a drop of fuel, little Sparky makes his way across the grounds and helps out with testing of future Nissan products. "I needed a project for a team building activity so we can bring the team together. We had a need for a truck->ke1311. Something to drive around, a shop truck," says Roland Schellenberg, one of Nissan’s masterminds behind Sparky.

Helping build Sparky was Arnold Moulinet. “I went home and stayed up till like four in the morning making all kinds of designs for what would work,” he says. “We basically got the stock Leaf, and after reviewing a bunch of designs of pickup trucks that we have here at Nissan, we decided to go with a Frontier bed.”

Now the Nissan development team has an electrically powered mini truck that functions as park of the team. “It’s something that we all put together,” says Schellenberg. “We all share, so it has a little bit of everybody in there.”

2014 Nissan Leaf "Sparky"

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2014 Nissan Leaf "Sparky"
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array

Nissan Sparky in detail

The Frontier heritage clearly shows through, even down to the cargo management rails. Engineers added the pine wood strips between the bed floor corrugations for added effect. Capping off the LEAF’s cabin is the rear cab section and window from the donor Frontier.

Nissan Leaf

The LEAF is Nissan’s answer to the need for an all-electric city car with room for four people and their cargo, and the ability to travel 75 miles on a single charge. The LEAF uses 24-kWh lithium-ion battery that has 48 compact modules with four cells each; this setup allows for tight packaging inside the car. An 80 kW AC synchronous motor delivers the power to the front wheels, totaling 107 horsepower and 187 pound-feet of torque.

Rated at 129 MPGe city, the LEAF is capable of 75 miles on a single charge. What’s more, a quick-charge port allows an 80-percent charge in as little as 30 minutes.

Pricing for the LEAF is surprisingly low, starting at $28,980. Add on the government rebates for an electric car, and the sticker price drops to roughly $21,000.