Infiniti’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance display last year was completely unexpected from the brand, an electric-powered reimagination of a 1940s grand prix race car called the Prototype 9. Chapter 10 for this year’s show is once again a single-seater EV, but it couldn’t have looked more different. If that’s the past, this is the future.
On this year’s lawn, Nissan’s premium brand will unveil the Prototype 10 concept car. Previewed by these sketches here, it’s described as a daring electrified speedster that provides a window into the brand’s desire to deliver driving pleasure and thrilling performance from electrified powertrains.
In creating the Prototype 10, Infiniti says it reimagined the classic speedster with a cool, clean and forward-looking design. The concept is said to be a natural evolution of the form language first seen in the Infiniti Q Inspiration and hints at future design cues for the brand. The brand plans to electrify all of its new production cars from 2021 onwards.
“The Infiniti Prototype 10 echoes the layout and design of some of the most evocative car designs of all time, where power was celebrated through high-powered single-seat competition cars. Our new concept speaks of an electrified future, something which is reflected in its form and details. It is appropriate that we found inspiration in an optimistic bygone era in which cars were characterized by the simple love of driving,” said former BMW man Karim Habib, now Infiniti’s executive design director.
No mention of the powertrain yet, but the Prototype 9 was propelled by a 30 kWh lithium-ion battery pack good for up to 20 minutes of EV range under heavy track use. The prototype motor’s 120 kW (161 hp) and 320 Nm of torque accelerates the 9 to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds, and a top speed of 170 km/h.
GALLERY: Infiniti Prototype 9
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- At the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, INFINITI will unveil a heritage-inspired prototype vehicle that captures the ingenuity and adventure of early motorsports with the brand’s contemporary “Powerful Elegance” design language. The new prototype not only celebrates INFINITI’s passion for design, but also the great roots of the company’s pioneer spirit and innovation mindset.
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The Q50 3.5 Hybrid is an absolute beast. Very powerful power-train. High hopes for Infiniti
If only the new QX50 could look 1/2 as exciting as this…
Hopefully the Q50 would benefit some styling cues from these prototypes