The Infiniti Q60 Project Black S Sees the Cutting Room Floor

Photo credit: Infiniti

Photo credit: Infiniti

From Autoweek

  • The Infiniti Project Black S was an F1-inspired coupe for the road, sporting a version of the hybrid Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that could boost performance by 25 percent.

  • It’s likely Infiniti’s departure from Formula 1 played a role in the project’s terminations.

  • Instead, Infiniti is putting a lot of weight behind vehicles like its QX60 replacement, betting crossover sales are only going to keep climbing.

Debuting at the 2017 Geneva motor show, the Infiniti Project Black S was an F1-inspired sports coupe for the road. Unlike the team at Mercedes-AMG, the folks at Infiniti weren’t going to stuff the high-revving, turbocharged F1 engine under the hood. Instead, they were looking to install the highly sophisticated Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) into the Q60. Infiniti suggested that this hybrid system would increase the performance of the 400-hp Q60 Red Sport by about 25 percent. Unfortunately for Infiniti fans—and those that love oddball sports cars—Infiniti is reportedly stopping the project before it hits production, according to Automotive News.

The culprit? Infiniti hasn’t given an official reason, but it’s likely that the company’s departure from Formula 1 played a role in the project’s termination. We have reached out to Infiniti for an official word on the project’s end, but haven’t received a response.

Even with its Formula 1 tie-in, this project didn’t have a lot of wind behind its sails. While sports cars will always be a staple for car manufacturers, getting the production nod is always difficult given the potential return on investment for a short-run, high-tech sports coupe—worse now given the continuing declination of car sales in the face of the ever-expanding crossover boom. Add to that the delays caused by COVID-19, and the writing was on the wall for this hopped-up Q60 regardless of its F1 creds.

While it’s a sad day for Infiniti sports car fans, it was the smart move for the company. Given the significant weight it’s putting behind its upcoming QX60 replacement, Infiniti is betting crossover sales are only going to keep climbing. That’s obviously no replacement for an F1-inspired sports coupe, but it’s a good sign for the company.

Let us know what you think of the cancellation of the F1-inspired Infiniti Q60 Project Black S in the comments below.

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