Infiniti showed off its newest concept car ahead of its official debut at the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance. The car blends classic race car aesthetics with modern electric powertrain technology. The vehicle is like a sleek vintage-looking missile with four wheels. It features a beautiful Infiniti logo hood ornament, a flowing, double-arch grille, and sleek lines down its side that remind us of a 1930’s Mercedes-Benz race car in some ways. The tail elegantly tapers off to a point.

prototype 9

“It started as a simple thought: What if we found a car, down at the southern tip of Japan, buried deep in the barn, hidden from all eyes for 70 years?” said Alfonso Alabaisa, Senior Vice Presiden, Global Design for Infiniti. “What if in this car we found the seed of passion planted during our first Japanese Grand Prix and the power and artistry of Infiniti today? What would this discovery look like?”

Infiniti’s prototype’s heritage-inspired design meshes nicely with the company’s current “powerful elegance” design language found on models like the Q50. The car is both modern and classic at once. Its 19-inch wire wheels and beautiful overall shape call to mind race cars of the late 1930s and early 1940s, but the powertrain and sleek attention to detail are all new-school. The car will utilize Nissan’s next-generation EV powertrain. It’s a 30 kWh high-voltage battery is paired with an electric motor that makes 148 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. Power goes to the rear wheels, which is supposed to send the car from 0-60 in just 5.5 seconds. Unfortunately, the battery will only last 20 minutes under heavy race track use.

prototype 9

prototype 9