The doors to the LA Auto Show have not officially opened to the public yet but already Infiniti is thinking ahead. The latest announcement from Nissan's luxury division points to a range-extending electric sports car concept being unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show that takes place in March.
The official teaser pictures reveal little information but Andy Palmer, executive vice-president of Infiniti, did tell us a little bit more when he said: "At the Geneva Motor Show next year, we will present our vision for a totally new kind of inspired premium performance car."
"Infiniti already has hybrid and clean diesel models on sale. And with an all-electric sedan on the way, the natural next step was to push the boundaries where performance and the environment intersect."
So that will be a rival to the range-extending electric sports car offering from Fisker Automotive then? Fisker's car (the Karma) was recently announced to have an average fuel economy of 135mpg and CO
2 emissions of 51g/km so will serve as a good benchmark for Infiniti.
There is no word yet on whether the range-extending Infiniti sports car will go on sale but with more manufacturers stepping up to the plate and working on performance orientated electric cars it would appear that driving thrills and going green may eventually go hand in hand.
Paul Healy - 18 Nov 2011