Infiniti Prototype 9 revealed as an electric retro race car
The Infiniti Prototype 9 has been revealed ahead of a debut at Pebble Beach as Infiniti imagines a history they never had in Grand Prix racing.
We thought it looked like a 1950s F1 car, but now it’s been revealed it seems to look like a Japanese take on perhaps the most iconic race car in history – the Mercedes w125.
Just as Lexus defined themselves by creating the LS as a Japanese S Class, Infiniti seem to want to borrow Mercedes history with this imagining of what an Infiniti from the same era would have been.
The W125 Silver Arrow was a monster of a car mechanically, with its 5.6 litre supercharged straight-eight delivering up to 600bhp and 200mph. In 1937. The Infiniti, sadly, doesn’t come close to that.
In fact, the Infiniti seems to come with an electric powertrain from the new LEAF, promising around 150bhp, a 0-62mph in about 5.5 seconds and only enough juice for a 20 minute track blat.
But even if the Prototype 9 is an imagined historic model from Infinity, it does look pretty good, with its retro lines, open wheels, leather-lined, single-seat cockpit and inspiration from, apparently, Japanese Motorsport and aeronautic design. And a grill from a modern Infiniti.
It has been hand-made using traditional skills and structure – like a ladder chassis and panel-beaten panels – as the continuation of a small out of hours project, and we think there is actually a small chance Infiniti could deliver the Prototype 9 as a very small-run plaything.
We’ll have more details when the Prototype 9 actually appears at Pebble.
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