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 unveiled 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.
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 161 hp and
320 Nm of torque accelerates the 0 to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds, and a top speed
of 170 km/h.
