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4 ways Infiniti’s Q Inspiration concept bridges present and future

Infiniti's new Q Inspiration concept is a striking fastback sedan that the company says reflects an inflection point for both the luxury brand and the broader auto industry itself. It represents a bridge between technologies. That's true in the literal sense; it employs Infiniti's new variable compression turbocharged engine technology, which provides performance features while maximizing efficiency, and bridges the gap to more advanced powertrains. It also features Nissan's ProPilot semi-autonomous driving technology. But it's also true for the concept car's design, which Infiniti says provides a simple, elegant solution to complex technological questions — offering a palate cleanser, if you will, for the complicated technologies hidden beneath the gleaming surfaces. Oddly enough, the futuristic-looking Q Inspiration owes a debt of gratitude to the Prototype 9, the concept based on a 1940s-style grand prix car that Infiniti released last year. Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti's senior vice president for global design, said that project became "a kind of a blank canvas for us to play with" and allowed for new discovery and expression with minimal brush strokes. It also led designers back to Ma, the Japanese concept of mastery of empty space. We spoke with Albaisa about how the concept's design echoes the theme of bridging the present and future. 1. The cabin's forward proportion and roominess Using the space-efficient VC-Turbo engine gave the designers space to shift the cabin forward and move the A-pillars back, creating a more centered and elongated cabin, with maximum headroom. The interior is clean, with orange and black leather with orange accents and backlit birch wood accents. The center console is floating, providing seamless connectivity to technology and hiding mechanical elements. Albaisa says it's the first manifestation of Infiniti's new form language for an era of advanced powertrain and future technologies. 2. The grille In what Albaisa describes as "a little bit of an accident" and "kind of tongue-in-cheek," the Q Inspiration's grille is a kind of trompe l'oeuil phenomenon. From directly in front, you can see the small fins, but viewed from the side, they disappear. So much so that Albaisa said he was initially fooled. "From a functional point of view, we need to breathe," he said. "But I think in the future, where there'll be a lot different types of technology, probably the car can breathe less. So we don't need that dominating big open mouth.

Infiniti Q50 BTCC ready to race

A few months ago, Infiniti announced it would field its Q50 sedan (or a racing derivative thereof) in the British Touring Car Championship, and now the Japanese automaker has revealed the tin-top racer in its final form as it prepares to roll onto the grid. Like the rest of the BTCC field, the Q50 racer is based on the series Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) regulations. That means it's based on the production model, and not on a control chassis (like the one you'd find in NASCAR) done up to look like the showroom version. It also means a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine driving upwards of 300 horsepower through an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox with AP Racing clutch, throttle by wire and the manufacturer's choice of front- or rear-wheel drive, the latter of which we assume Infiniti has chosen for its touring car. Two examples of the Q50 BTCC will be fielded by Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing, a non-profit venture with proceeds (assuming there are any) going towards the British paratroopers' charity. The team is being run by Derek Palmer Sr, whose son Derek Jr will drive one, with the other piloted by Richard Hawken, and injured paratroopers filling out the pit crew and support staff. The Infiniti Q50 BTCC will be showcased on the Dunlop stand at the Autosport International show in Birmingham this weekend. NEW Q50 BTCC LIVERY AT AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL SHOW Wednesday, 7 January 2015 The recently announced 'Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing' team, which will contest the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship this season, will unveil a new livery for its two NGTC Infiniti Q50 race cars at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham later this week. The new livery on the Q50, being displayed on the Dunlop stand, has been designed by Infiniti's own design team in Paddington London, further enhancing the ongoing partnership of Infiniti with the Mallory Park-based team, which will employ injured ex-Paratroopers to prepare both race cars. Simon Cox, Infiniti Design Director from Infiniti Design London, said "The new Q50 race car livery was developed to contrast against the traditional branding schemes normally associated with the BTCC grid. However, it still retains a high level of visibility, reflecting both the dynamic qualities of the Infiniti Brand along with the performance and striking contours of the Q50 road car.

2015 Brazilian Grand Prix is the same as it ever was

At this point, we hope Nico Rosberg is planning to carry his current qualifying form into the 2016 season and back it up with the same kind of race-day cojones he showed winning the race in Mexico City two weeks ago. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver got it right enough again on Saturday afternoon to take his fifth consecutive pole position ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton by almost a tenth of a second. It's the same one-two from Brazil last year. The bad news for the rest of the field is that the winner in Brazil the last seven years has been one of the two drivers on the front row. Last year it was the Williams duo that lined up behind Mercedes, this year it's Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel plays the stalking horse, securing third in his Ferrari ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen in fourth. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas actually qualified in fourth, but he had to serve a three-spot grid penalty for passing under red flags in Free Practice 2, so he started sixth. That promoted Sahara Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg up to fifth. Daniil Kvyat was the quickest representative from Infiniti Red Bull Racing, getting into seventh even with a Renault power unit that's weak on some of the key stretches at the Interlagos track. Felipe Massa had the second Williams in eighth, in front of the second Red Bull driven by Daniel Ricciardo in ninth. Toro Rosso hasn't confirmed its drivers for next year but Max Verstappen keeps making it hard to look elsewhere, taking 10th. Rosberg is working nearly the same trick he pulled last year: drive like a second driver for most of the year, drive like a world champion for the last quarter of a season. He pulled away at the start and covered Hamilton just enough on the run to the first corner to keep Hamilton on the outside. By the end of Turn 1 the German had the lead and didn't give it up for the rest of the race outside of pit stops. Without overwhelming pace to pass and unable to follow closely, Hamilton could do nothing except ask his team for a different strategy to go for the win. When Mercedes told him "No," trying to protect Rosberg's second place in the championship ahead of Vettel, that was the race. Just like last year, Rosberg and Hamilton finished one-two. Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hulkenberg, and Kvyat drove lonely races to finish in positions three through seven.