Infiniti teases how its future performance machines may look with the Q60 Project Black S at the Geneva Motor Show
If you were in any doubt regarding Infiniti’s technical alliance with the Renault Sport Formula 1 team, the new Q60 Project Black S concept car the company has just revealed at the Geneva Motor Show should allay those fears nicely.
As of yet there are no production plans regarding the Q60 concept, Project Black S more an exercise to demonstrate how performance models of this calibre might look if green lit. Unlike the premium combined hints of performance offered by the company’s current flagship – the Q50 Red Sport – Project Black is more performance-orientated. And in that regard, Infiniti doesn’t disappoint.
The bodywork itself remains largely untouched, although new front and rear bumpers, deeper sills, carbon fibre detailing and wheel arch spats that cover a wider track make their respective debuts on the model. Each has been designed specifically for the Q60’s distinctive lines themselves rather than brutally functional race car-style wings and splitters being thrown on ad hoc. Additional air intakes meanwhile have also been added to the front bumper in an effort to further cool the engine – more on that in a second – while the whole package sits atop bespoke 21in alloys. Plus, oh those little tinkers at Infiniti, Project Black is actually finished in a dark matte grey.
Details concerning the underpinnings and drivetrain though have yet to emerge. Infiniti has confirmed that the Project Black S would receive an upgraded Q60 chassis but suspension updates remain a mystery. Similarly the 3-litre turbocharged V6 and seven-speed automatic from the Q60 remain in the show model, although with assistance from Renault Sport F1, the Q60 S’ 400bhp power output could be increased by 25 percent in a production model, angling the Project Black S towards BMW’s M4 GTS. In the same vein, Infiniti would also plan to adapt the energy recovery system (ERS) it helped develop for Renault’s new R.S. 17 Formula 1 car to suit the road car’s V6.
Chances are high then that, even if a production Q60 Project Black S doesn’t make the cut, road-going Infinitis with heightened performance, stiffer chassis and more aggressively styled exteriors might not be too far around the corner.
