Filed under:
Performance,
Infiniti
History and the contemporary automotive market hold no lack of examples of F1 teams translating their checkered flags into road cars. It's practically
Ferrari's
raison d'être, after all.
McLaren's following suit, as well. Even
Williams has collaborated with
Renault on performance-oriented Clios, and now with
Jaguar on the
C-X75. But though each of these teams has claimed its share of championships and then some, these days it's
Red Bull Racing that's on top. Trouble is -
PlayStation fantasies notwithstanding - Red Bull doesn't make automobiles beyond a small batch of single-seaters for Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. That's where
Infiniti comes in.
Powered by sister company Renault's engines, the Red Bull team this year features prominent
sponsorship from Infiniti - a move which is expected to turn into a more comprehensive re-branding scheme in the future. In the meantime, Infiniti is keen to capitalize on its tie-in with the world champion F1 team (particularly since its only previous racing activities involved limited success in converting the Q45's V8 for Indy racing), and now reports are suggesting that a collaborative road car project between Red Bull Racing and Infiniti could be underway.
Citing the Renault Clio Williams as precedent, the Japanese luxury automaker is reportedly looking into making a performance-oriented version of one of its current products to go beyond the current
Infiniti Performace Line. The
G37 coupe would be the likeliest basis, but a substantial re-engineering effort could (unlike the Renault Williams tie-up) involve the F1 team's engineers to transfer their competencies to the road. Sources expect the project to be complete within two years from now.
Red Bull Racing to collaborate on Infiniti performance model originally appeared on
Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 17:29:00 EST. Please see our
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