Teaser for Infiniti luxury EV due in 2013
Over the past decade Infiniti has been carefully forging a performance image for itself, developing cars with class leading powertrains and dynamics. With the company recently announcing plans for an electric vehicle--something commonly seen as environmentally friendly and completely lacking in the performance department--that carefully formed image could be in jeopardy.
However, while the new electric vehicle will share a platform and most of its components with the relatively mundane 2012 Nissan Leaf, Infiniti fans shouldn’t be worried as the vehicle should lend itself perfectly to the company’s performance image thanks to the instantaneous torque characteristics of electric motors.
In addition to this new teaser, the only official details is that the vehicle will be a stylish compact with plenty of performance and seating capacity for five. And while based on the Leaf, a more powerful electric motor and longer lasting batteries is almost a certainty as well.
A concept version is already being developed, with an eye toward the production vehicle's design goals. Initial design proposals reportedly looked too much like the Leaf so expect something much more radical--both inside and out.
Along with the release of today’s teaser Infiniti also confirmed a 2013 launch date for its new electric vehicle. Interestingly, 2013 is same year that BMW plans to launch its Megacity vehicle, and although the two vehicles look similar in their respective teasers they will be competing in different segments. The Infiniti model will be significantly larger than the Megacity and also more upmarket.
[Infiniti]
