Infinit FX50: The Sebastian Vettel Edition?

It appears Infiniti are planning to cash-in on their Red Bull Sponsorship by launching a Sebastian Vettel Edition of the Infiniti FX50.

We have said it before, and we’ll say it again: Infiniti are pursuing a strange path to establish themselves in the UK and Europe.

For a start, Infiniti should surely have set themselves as the antidote to the Lexus hybrid obsession; claimed the market for quality Japanese cars with a sporting edge?

But they’ve missed the boat now Lexus appears to have found its sporting mojo under a rock in the basement and is setting out to make the new GS a proper luxury sports saloon.

You would also think they’d do whatever they could to get their product under the noses of potential buyers, yet they seem to want to keep it hidden. Where are all the Infiniti cars for review (not just us – but almost anyone)? Where are the adverts? Where’s the passion for the product?

If Infiniti were to take a fraction of the money they’re pumping in to a dead-end product like the LEAF and spent it on putting the Infiniti everywhere, they’d make real inroads in to the Lexus market in the UK and Europe.

Instead, they seem to think that sponsoring Red Bull is the way to the hearts of the European car buyer. We dread to think how much money they’re spending on the Red Bull association, but it won’t be peanuts.

But despite F1 being a fairly popular motor sport in Europe, it’s quite hard to see the big overlap in the venn diagram where Infiniti buyers and F1 lovers overlap. But Infiniti seem obsessed with F1 as the route to the hearts and minds of European buyers.

See the 2012 Infinit FX Limited Edition Photo Gallery.

We’re not sure whether that makes them stupid naive or inspired. Time will tell.

But for now, the obsession with F1 association continues with the release of the video below which, we assume, is the prelude to a Sebastian Vettel Limited Edition Infiniti at Frankfurt next month. We also assume, as there are references to it in the video, that this will be an Infiniti FX50.

We understand that the F1 association is an association of power and performance. But for a posh Datsun on stilts? Really? Wouldn’t Infiniti be far better off getting the FX out in the wild and under peoples noses?

We could understand it if this was the Infiniti version of the GT-R (some hopes) to make the LFA seem overpriced. But it’s not. It’s a faux offroader with bling. It’s not even the latest FX, as Infiniti Europe has no plans to bring us the 2012 FX. Strange marketing.

But what do we know?

Infinit FX5 Sebastian Vettel Limited Edition Video