Two-time Le Mans 24 Hours LM P2 podium finisher and inaugural Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez has been confirmed as the first race driver for Nissan’s revolutionary ZEOD RC prototype.

The Nissan ZEOD RC will become the first car to complete an entire 13.6-kilometer (8.5 mile) lap of Le Mans on nothing but electrical power when it competes in this year’s Le Mans 24 hours.

The car will combine electric motors with an incredible 1.5 liter, 3-cylinder turbo engine which produces 400 horsepower, yet weights only 40kg (88 pounds).

The car will occupy the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s “Garage 56” at this year’s Le Mans – a spot reserved for new and innovative technologies not previously seen in the French endurance classic.

Ordóñez won the inaugural Nissan PlayStation GT Academy competition in 2008 and made his Le Mans 24 Hours debut in 2011. In three attempts at the famous French enduro he has twice finished on the LM P2 podium. He also took championship wins in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in LM P2 in 2011 and last year’s Blancpain Endurance Series.

Most recently he took a class victory along with four new GT Academy graduates at the Dubai 24 Hours. Ordóñez was previously confirmed as the test driver for the ZEOD RC project but has now been promoted into a race seat

“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a very challenging project for Nissan and for me as a racing driver, to have the first opportunity to drive an electric car at Le Mans at more than 300km/h. I can’t wait to begin testing and get in the car at Le Mans and do those special laps under electric power,” Ordóñez said.

“The development process is really complex. Nobody has done something this technologically challenging with electric vehicles before. Completing an entire lap of Le Mans on nothing but electric power is an incredible groundbreaking challenge.

“I’ve been in the workshop back in the UK with all of the ZEOD engineers and mechanics. You can feel how much effort they’re putting on this project. It will huge for Nissan. It’s very complicated to put a petrol engine and electrical motors into the same car and be able to switch between the two. The 400 horsepower petrol engine that weighs only 40 kg is incredibly small – I can bring the petrol engine to Le Mans in my bag as carry-on luggage!

“Our ratio of power per kilo is just incredible. It’s even better than a Formula 1 car. “It’s a big challenge but that is the type of challenging project that Nissan thrives on – they don’t choose the easy path.”