Infiniti will be showing a new concept car at the Detroit Auto Show next month, and they decided to give us a little teaser look at it. It’s interesting, even if it does feel a bit like a fancy folded napkin or maybe a bit of intricate origami.
I suppose we may as well hear what the overheated PR bullshit is about the car, so prepare yourselves:
“As a new wave of technologies begins to take shape, our Detroit concept car heralds a new generation of INFINITI. A seamless and stunning new design philosophy demonstrating INFINITI artistry in the new age of autonomy and breakthrough drivetrains. In Detroit, shown alongside Prototype 9, INFINITI aims to showcase a new elegance, one that strikes harmony and simplicity in a complex world.”
Alfonso Albaisa, SVP Global Design”
New elegance, harmony, complex world, blah blah blah. That tells us nothing. Let’s see what else this press release says:
“The new INFINITI concept car will take the traditional sedan architecture to its next stage of evolution. A shift toward smarter, more compact and less intrusive powertrains; we were able to create an alternative form with flowing gestures, more engaging in character and more enriching in experience. With its long cabin, balanced proportions and muscular stance, the concept heralds in a new era for INFINITI models.”
Karim Habib, INFINITI Executive Design Director
That’s a little better—based on this we can at least tell it’s supposed to be electric (smaller, less intrusive drivetrain), and the ‘long cabin’ part at least hints at the proportions, and, perhaps, a focus on an interior designed for a room-like autonomous car.
As far as the design vocabulary we can see, I think there’s some interesting things happening. The crisp creases are nice and that sharp, deeply inset triangular ‘fold’ area of the hood isn’t something you normally see in automotive design.
The grille area seems to be replaced with inset ribbed textures, which is an interesting way to suggest the traditional grille without going full fake-grille.
The way the Infiniti badge has been rendered via its negative space is novel as well. Even with the usual stupid PR-talk, I’m curious to see this thing in full.