2030 Infiniti Le Mans Concept
The winner for Michelin's 'Le Mans 2030' global
design competition, which looks at how a potential endurance racer from
Infiniti could look in 14 years, has just been announced.
Created by Chinese designer Tao Ni, the futuristic
Infiniti race car has been envisioned to not only be faster than current
prototypes , but safer, too. Ni's creation has the ability to race by itself at
night, leaving the day to the driver. In a 24-hour endurance race like Le Mans,
this would help to dramatically reduce driver fatigue and, if the autonomous
system were advanced enough, make it safer.
The concept is unlike any current race
car and has aerodynamic bodywork that entirely covers all four wheels. It also
includes advanced air tunnels beneath the skin to produce huge amounts of
downforce and numerous wings, fins and air intakes.
While it is extremely unlikely Infiniti will enter a
factory team into LMP1 racing in the future, it will be interesting to see if
autonomous racing gains traction in the coming years, particularly following
the introduction of the Roborace series.
