Infiniti’s Emerg-E concept is the first of the luxury brand’s models to be engineered from the ground up in the UK.
In fact, there are a number of firsts: The first Infiniti two-seater, the Nissan luxury brand’s first mid-engined car and the first vehicle to use a range-extender in the whole parent company’s line-up.
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The stylish sports cars uses a lithium ion battery to run up to 30 miles on electric power before a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine kicks in to act as a generator for the electric motor giving an additional 300-mile range.
The powertrain was developed with Lotus engineering while the single speed transmission was developed by another British company, Berkshire-based Xtrac.
It’s a combination that gives true sports car performance with a 0-60mph acceleration time of just four seconds and a top speed of 130mph.
While the exterior was styled by the Nissan-Infiniti team in San Diego, California, the interior was done at Nissan Design Europe in Paddington, London, and the engineering work was carried out at the Nissan Technical Centre at Cranfield in Bedfordshire.
The Emerg-E is not just a concept either. Two running prototypes are being built – in the UK, of course – ready for testing by journalists to really gauge reaction before deciding on whether to launch the vehicle.
Is this likely? It’s well known that Infiniti is looking for a ‘halo’ model to boost European sales and the Emerg-E works on many levels. It looks great, it’s fast and it’s environment-friendly.
Advanced product planning chief Francois Bancon said: “Infiniti’s tag-line is ‘inspired performance’ and the Emerg-E could be a real symbol for the brand. We decided on the name because the concept embraces emerging technology and it merges two power sources, the traditional internal combustion engine and an electric motor.”
