Infiniti Planning Hybrid Supercar For 2016?

Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti, has come a long way since its founding a couple of decades ago. But unlike many other luxury car makers, Infiniti lacks a range-topping “halo car” to get enthusiasts excited. A new report suggests that that car could be coming as soon as 2016. But which direction will Infiniti go?

While Infiniti does have a presence in Formula 1, right now its lineup of actual vehicles is kind of bland. While Nissan has the GT-R, there is no Infiniti supercar, though there have been concepts. The Infiniti Emerg-e used a Lotus gas generator to power two electric motors good for over 400 horsepower, while the Infiniti Essence was powered by a 3.7 liter V6 mated to an electric motor making 592 horsepower.

Either concept could be used for the upcoming halo car, though one Infiniti exec denied reports that their car would utilize the GT-R engine. But what about a next-gen GT-R, which is rumored to become a hybrid itself? Nissan also introduced a supercharged 2.5 liter engine/hybrid drivetrain that could perhaps be upgraded for some real performance car power.

Whatever path Infiniti chooses, they’ll have to distinguish their supercar from competitors like the Lexus LFA or Mercedes SLS AMG. A performance hybrid would certainly be something different, as long as they do it right.

Source: AutoCar

Infiniti Emerg-E Concept Won’t Get Built, But Offers Glimpse Of Future

Nissan is not having a good go at it in the electric vehicle department, and it may be affecting their future plans. The hotly anticipated Infiniti Emerge-E Concept, a luxury supercar for the next century, will not get built according to the luxury brand’s boss. But it does offer a peek at Infiniti’s future plans.

The Infiniti Emerge-E, a plug-in hybrid supercar, was actually a running, driving concept as evidenced by its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed’s hillclimb event. Many took this display of driving prowess as an indication that Infiniti intended to build a production model of the Emerg-E, but Infiniti executive Johan de Nysschen put the kibosh on that.

Rather, according to de Nysschen, the Infiniti Emerge-E is a look at future powertrain options from Nissan’s luxury brand. The 400 horsepower plug-in hybrid system, which delivered a 0 to 60 mph time of around just 4 seconds, showed a lot of promise. It’s a real shame to see such a cool car put on the back burner.

Nothing was mentioned regarding the Infiniti LE, a luxury version of the Nissan Leaf electric car. That project may still be in the works, though slow sales of the Leaf EV may stymie that effort as well. I personally was hoping to see the Infiniti Emerg-E make it to production, but maybe Nissan has something even better in the works?

Source: AutoCar

‘Fully functional’ extended-range Infiniti EMERG-E runs at Goodwood

To prove that Infiniti’s extended range EMERG-E supercar is far more than just a styling exercise, the brand unveiled “fully functional” versions at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend past.
The demonstrator cars, have already taken part in the famous hillclimb, and on Sunday, Formula 1 pilot Mark Webber performed a stint in the EMERG-E.
According to Jerry Hardcastle, vice president of Vehicle Design and Development for the Nissan Group Technology Centre Europe, as well as chairman of the UK’s Automotive Council, the demonstrators remain true to the original concept car shown at Geneva, utilizing twin electric motors that generate 402 horsepower, enabling 0-60 mph acceleration of four seconds and 0-130 mph in 30 seconds.

Utilizing a modified Lotus Evora chassis, the demonstrators also incorporate a Lotus developed 1.2-liter gasoline generator that produces 47 horsepower at just 3,500 rpm. Zero emissions range is pegged at 30 miles at which point the gasoline generator kicks in. Even after 300 miles Infiniti says the EMERG-E demonstrators deliver an emissions output of just 55 grams per kilometer.
However, in order to make the EMERG-E viable as a running, driving vehicle some changes still had to be implemented. One of the most notable is the addition of front and rear spoilers.
“We added the spoiler onto the cars because we needed to balance the front and rear lift of the car,” said Hardcastle. “The spoiler was therefore specifically designed to be purely functional as opposed to being added just for design purposes.”




Besides showcasing Infiniti’s potential future at Goodwood, the EMERG-E demonstrators have also been enrolled in a yearlong test program that aims to explore developments in sustainability and also what Infiniti dubs as “responsible performance.” “In EMERG-E, we’re trying to study and investigate and showcase two things: one is the potential of a mid-engine sportscar for the Infiniti range, and the second is of a new range-extended powertrain,” said Hardcastle. “On the one hand we had an opportunity to make a mid-engine Infiniti sportscar, which would differentiate it from anything in the Nissan range and anything else in the Infiniti range. The mid-engine concept could have any powertrain, so we made a bold decision. Nissan and Infiniti already have a lot of technology for normally aspirated engines, turbocharged engines, diesel engines, electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. We hadn’t really studied in great depth the potential of a range-extended electric vehicle though, and so that gave rise to the second opportunity to study a new powertrain as well. So in EMERG-E, we’ve brought the two things together.”





Helping the foster the idea of EMERG-E as a viable automotive concept, the Automotive Council Technology Group has developed a roadmap, which lays out goals for automotive environmental sustainability, including reduced CO2 emissions and reduced vehicle weight.
“If you make a lightweight car, whatever powertrain you use, it will have lower CO2,” said Hardcastle.
As a result, using a Lotus based chassis was seen as a logical step for the EMERG-E demonstrators, which utilizing an aluminum chassis tub and carbon fiber bodywork. The vehicles has a relatively bantam curb weight of 3522 pounds.


Source: GM-Volt.com

Five Hybrid Concept Vehicles Compared and Wanted

Every now and then, we allow our thoughts to drift here at GreenCarReports.

Naturally, we're thinking forward rather than back, and often to the cars we might be driving around in five or ten years time.

We've compiled a list of five concept cars seen at auto shows over the last year or so. All are hybrids, and all showcase exciting new visions of styling and technology that could well hit the roads in the near future.

Hyundai i-Oniq

Given the meteoric rise of Korean brands Hyundai and Kia over the last few decades, it's only right that they should play a part in our future too. The i-Oniq concept car, revealed at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show back in March, is a sleek, two-door range-extended hybrid.

 Though the styling evokes images of a huge engine under the hood, the concept uses a tiny 1.0-liter 3-cylinder unit, supplying power to a 107-horsepower electric motor when its 75-mile battery range is depleted. We're pretty confident that 75 miles would cover most of our day-to-day driving, but that little gasoline engine would provide a useful extra 360 miles.

And you know what? It looks pretty good too.

BMW i8

Increasingly the makers of the Ultimate Driving Machine are turning their attention to EfficientDynamics. High-mpg diesel engines are common in BMW's European lineup and increasingly filtering into the U.S, and the 1 Series-based ActiveE is a great little electric car.

It's the i8 that really excites us though. The plug-in hybrid i8 should reach 60mph in under 6 seconds and go on to 155mph, and the combination of three-cylinder gasoline engine and electric motors should make it the greenest BMW yet--save for the pure electric ActiveE and upcoming i3, of course.

Toyota FT-Bh

Shown at Geneva this year, the FT-Bh concept is Toyota's indication of what a future version of the 2012 Toyota Prius C or Yaris Hybrid might look like--and what its engineering might be under the skin.

For the FT-Bh, that means a 1.0-liter, twin-cylinder Atkinson cycle engine--think of it as half that of a Prius engine. It's unlikely the car would be too powerful, but with a curb weight of only 1,733 pounds it doesn't have a lot to haul either. Coupled with a drag coefficient of only 0.235, economy could be spectacular. Toyota is claiming up to 112 mpg for the concept, and that's before the car becomes a plug-in hybrid...

Acura NSX

The best news about the NSX is that Acura and Honda are actually going to make it--so in a few more years we could be driving this one for real. It'll use a mid-mounted V-6 engine supplying power to the rear wheels, and the front wheels will be powered by electric motors, as part of Acura's 'Super Hybrid All-Wheel Drive' system.

Acura wants to make an environmentally-responsible supercar, but it's sure to offer all the driving fun of the original NSX, still considered one of the first truly usable supercars. With its own small-capacity V-6, it was already ahead of the game as far as downsizing is concerned.

Infiniti Emerg-E

Like the Acura NSX, the Emerg-E really could hit the streets in its current form. Based on the same platform as the small-volume Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid, the chassis is light and the technology is high.

The Emerg-E uses a Lotus-designed 1.2-liter, 3-cylinder, 50-horsepower engine, but the real power comes from two electric motors producing a combined 402 horsepower and 738 pounds-feet of torque. Electric-only range would be around 30 miles, and the range-extending engine sips juice for another 270 miles.

So those are just five concepts we can't wait to drive, and that's without scratching the surface of electric cars too. What concept cars would you like to see on the roads? Let us know below.



Source: Green Car Reports

Infiniti EMERG-E on Display at Geneva Auto Show

Images of Infiniti’s much anticipated Emerg-E range-extended electric sports concept car might have leaked onto the Internet long before its 2012 Geneva Motor Show unveiling -- but now we know the sexy sports car isn’t all looks.

Officially unveiled this morning, we’ve learned that the Infiniti Emerg-E can accelerate from 0-60 mph in four seconds, has a 0-130 mph time of 30 seconds, has an all-electric range of 30 miles, and emits less tailpipe emissions than a 2012 Toyota Prius.

Featuring a classic mid-engine design, the Infiniti Emerg-E is driven by twin electric motors capable of producing 300 kilowatts of power.

Those motors are in turn fed by four inverters, powered from the Emerg-E’s battery pack.

When the battery is depleted -- or when extra power is needed -- the Infiniti Emerg-E uses its three-cylinder range-extending gasoline engine to generate additional electricity.

Infiniti hasn’t confirmed details of the Emerg-E’s 3-cylinder engine.

But we suspect it may be the 1.2-liter 3-cylinder direct-injection, supercharged Miller-cycle engine developed by sister company Nissan for its supermini range.

Source: Green Car Reports