Following up on last year’s Prototype 9 electric roadster shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Infiniti returns with another EV concept, this one modeled after speedster-style sports cars. The new show car is the first project under the direction of the upscale brand’s new design chief Karim Habib.
“The Infiniti Prototype 10 echoes the layout and design of early speedsters,” Habib said. “This period saw the creation of some of the most evocative car designs of all time…Our new concept speaks of an electrified future, something which is reflected in its form and details.”
Open vs. closed wheels
While Prototype 9 sported an open-wheel design, the newest concept has fenders, although it retains a single seat layout. It also derives some of its lines and overall shape from the Inspiration Q show car that debuted earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
In addition to building on the design philosophy that will be embodied in future Infiniti models, the fact that Prototype 10 is a pure electric also is part of the division’s promise to offer electrified powertrains in all its models beginning in 2021. The concept is built with a flat floor that allows the driver to sit low in the chassis. Infiniti says this is part of its plan to use rigid, modular platforms that take advantage of the low center of gravity and packaging that an EV offers.
“Electrification provides new opportunities for the design and layout of our cars,” Habib said. “In accommodating batteries and electric motors or employing smaller gasoline engines, we aren’t bound by the same physical restrictions. Prototype 10 shows how an electrified powertrain can fit within a lean, lightweight and daring body and this enabled us to rethink the fundamental layout of the car.”
