03 March 2009 - 15:00
Geneva show: Infiniti Essence
As a piece of fantasy, this Infiniti Essence Concept is pretty dreamy. But underneath all that swoopiness is some important tech that'll sneak its way into Infiniti's real-world cars over the next two years.
Deep breath: it's powered by a 3.7-litre twin turbo V6 petrol-electric hybrid. Might be a mouthful, but it makes around 600bhp, which rolls off the tongue quite nicely, don't you think?
Drop the turbos, detune it a little and you'll have the basis for Infiniti's hybrid powertrain, which will give things like the Lexus RX450h a run for its money. But it'll have to have a seriously low CO2 output to get close - the Lexus kicks out just 148g/km, which is almost unheard of for a yummy mummy's SUV. So watch out Lexus, Infiniti is coming for you.
That's not all. The Essence might be a show car, but its design won't be wasted. As with any weird concept, expect to see bits and bobs cropping up on future models. Bits like the air vent behind the front wheel arch - it's inspired by a ‘Japanese comb', apparently.
We're not sure what a Japanese comb looks like, but after seeing this, we're pretty sure we want one. And if future Infinitis look and go like this, then we want one of those too.
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They should have made a large, swooping, 4 door "coupé" version with the same underpinnings as the coupé. I think this would have made more sense because all car makers are going for the 4 door GT, fastback look.
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That looks awesome, unlike even any Inifnitis I've seen before!
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Are you sure this is a Infiniti Essence, Because in my mind it looks like a Maserati GranTurismo / Austin Healy 3000 Mk III Hybrid and also I certainly would NOT want a Hybrid.
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The bonnet, the wheel arches and the grill remind me of the Cobra.
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Reminds me of a Ferrari 599GTB!!
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@cazstan yh thats what i was thinking but with a bit of aston and a small bit of maserati thrown in! cant argue it is a pretty sweet looking car.
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I like the general outline, very classically proportioned - Long bonnet and swoopy cockpit. Trouble is though, the details are horrible: That side vent looks like the designer got bored and just left it half finished. The Grille makes me think of the Scream. The C Pillar just looks silly, and probably makes rear quarter visibility terrible. The headlamps are fussy and those wheels... ..fine for the American market, but would send Euro luxobarge drivers running back to there BMW/Merc/Audi dealerships in droves.
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stunning! pity about it´s gormless, gaping killer whale gob though
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Look like AC cobra, DB9 and a Granturismo all bundled in one japanese package. Plus, at first those rims nearly blinded me!
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it reminds me of a new aston martin V8 vantage and that is cool
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Hmmm... i dont know its nice but some of the parts like the front bumper and the wierd swoop thing on the side looks like bits that shouldnt be on the same car. Still sort of good looking i guess
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Hmmm... i dont know its nice but some of the parts like the front bumper and the wierd swoop thing on the side looks like bits that shouldnt be on the same car. Still sort of good looking i guess
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Open Car Bar
Tom90 commented on this article
04 March 2009
I can only say one thing and that is WOW THAT IS AMAZING hope they make one similar to the concept
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