As Infiniti creates its product road map for the next generation, retailer Steve Lapin has ideas.
The Infiniti National Dealer Advisory Board chairman would like a pair of new models to bookend the Japanese luxury brand’s portfolio.
“If we’re going to become this aspirational brand, we would need a six-figure GT-R-type car,” Lapin told Automotive News. “We need a differentiator.”
Lapin’s ideas might not be so fanciful.
Infiniti previously brainstormed a racy halo car before ditching it to focus on more practical segments. The Japanese brand displayed a running prototype of a Formula One-inspired high-performance hybrid coupe at the 2018 Paris auto show.
Based on the Q60 coupe, the Project Black S concept featured a dual-hybrid electrified powertrain that boosted Infiniti’s 400-hp VR30 twin-turbo V-6 engine into an estimated 563-hp electrified power source. With a top speed of 153 mph, the Black S could sprint from 0 to 60 mph in under four seconds.
The carbon-fiber concept featured a novel way of recouping lost energy during braking. In addition to using regenerative braking to recharge the batteries, the Black S harvested heat energy from the exhaust gases in the engine’s twin turbochargers, allowing it to generate electrical power under both braking and acceleration.
But in 2021, Infiniti confirmed it had shelved plans for the Black S, although it left the door open to a revisit. “The concept continues to inspire us,” spokesman Kyle Bazemore told Automotive News at the time.
Beyond the buzz, the sports car would drive technology and engineering development that would, over time, trickle down to Infiniti’s mainstream models.
“It would show what we are capable of,” said Lapin, CEO of Achievement Automotive, which operates an Infiniti store in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
The second idea? Lapin sees room for an entry-model crossover at the other end of the portfolio.
“We need to have a gateway model in the $35,000 to $40,000 comparable to the Lexus NX,” Lapin said.
“It would bring young families into the brand, who will upgrade to the larger models as their incomes and families grow.”