Infiniti is taking the wraps off of a new prototype inspired by the open-wheeled racers of the late 1940s. The Project 9 has beautiful lines, skinny wheels, and an all-new electric powertrain.
"If one were to imagine an open-wheeled Infiniti racer on the famous circuits of the era, such as Japan's Tamagawa Speedway, what would that look like?" asked Infiniti Senior VP for Global Design Alfonso Albaisa. He said that "the sketches were stunning and the idea so compelling that we had to produce a prototype."
It was inspired by the idea of finding a vintage racer hidden in a barn in the Japanese countryside. What would that car look like? How would it have been constructed? "Open-wheeled racers of the age were beautiful machines, elegant and powerful and with a wonderful purity of purpose. It's an automotive fantasy, but the notion captured our imaginations enough to put pencil to paper," said Albaisa.
Once sketch had turned to clay model, it was secreted to the Nissan Research Center Oppama, where a functioning car was made. The body is bare sheet metal. Cut and formed by hand. That body is wrapped around a steel ladder frame. The wheels are a 19-inch wire-spoke design, wearing period correct cross-ply racing tires.
The cockpit is trimmed in black leather with contrast red stitching. The sewing and finish are designed to replicate real vintage racers.
The suspension is vintage, with a rigid axle and transverse leaf spring in front and a De Dion axle in the rear. Infiniti did swap drum brakes for discs.
But under the skin is high tech. The electric powertrain is a new motor design that hasn't yet seen a production vehicle, but appears to be the more powerful system of the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf. The system makes 148 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque, with a top speed of 170 km/h and 0-100 km.h in 5.5 seconds. In track use, the 30 kWh battery will last 20 minutes.
The Infiniti Project 9 will be shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. After that, it will be displayed during Monterey Car Week, where it will share the spotlight with the only surviving Prince R380, a race winning and record setting sports car from the Nissan family in 1965.
