Infiniti Q50 to enter British Touring Car Championship

Sat, 18 Oct 2014

Infiniti doesn't have much in the way of motorsports heritage. Sure, its logo is currently plastered all over the open-wheelers of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, but that's little more than a series of stickers – the turbocharged V6 hybrid still comes from corporate cousin Renault.

Perhaps realizing that, the company is dipping its toe into the motorsports pool in a much bigger way (albeit in a far smaller series). The Nissan-owned luxury brand will campaign its Q50 sedan in the notoriously rowdy British Touring Car Championship with a new factory team, called Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing.

The team works with British veterans' charity Support Our Paras, and actually will employ a number of injured vets as part of the team, according to the report on Motor Authority.

The Q50 BTCC car needs to comply with the series rules, which call for a turbocharged, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. It's the manufacturer's choice on whether the mandatory six-speed sequential gearbox distributes power to either the front or rear axles. The car itself is being developed by Pro Motorsport and will likely see its track debut this year.

By Brandon Turkus