No one appears to have told Infiniti that there’s a global financial crisis and that (apparently) the world now only wants to buy clean, economical city cars. Not that we’re saying a production version of the Infiniti Essence couldn’t be green(ish) you understand. Autopia is reporting that the real McCoy might even come with a diesel engine, coupled to a hybrid…
But don't worry about that happening - cos it'll never be built. And to be honest, we think that if it was, shoving a diesel-electric unit under the hood would be a bit of shame. There comes a time when you just have to say “stuff it”, and to be honest that’s pretty much what Infiniti have done here. It’s clearly a case of ‘right car, wrong time’, but hey, if you were 20 years old, wouldn’t you build yourself a nice birthday present?
So no, we think that this is one of those cases where a drop-dead gorgeous, large, 2-seater coupe would be just fine with a snorting great V8, thanks very much. In all seriousness, what the Essence could show though, is a way forward for Infiniti’s design language. This car has – frankly – unbelievable body surfacing. It will doubtless have its detractors, but from a design standpoint, the complex surfacing and highlights are incredibly well controlled, and the proportions of the car are pretty much spot-on. All in all, this was one of, it not the highlight of the Geneva 2009 autoshow.
We didn’t really expect it to be Infiniti who would throw caution to the wind and build a “screw you and your economic downturn” supercar concept, but we’re rather cheered by the fact that they did – and that it looks as good as this. See for yourself in the Video (top).
With thanks to Drew Smith – who pointed out the Infiniti, which I had previously missed due to tiredness and stupidity, as one of the stars of the show – and who makes a cameo voice-over appearance in the video. Check out his Downsideupdesign blog, too – because it rocks.
Posted by Joseph Simpson on 5th March 2009
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