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Infiniti's Vision for Gran Turismo revealed in full [w/video]

Just about any car has to be designed with some sort of limitations, whether it's a production car that has to be usable on the road, a racecar that has to comply with regulations, or even a concept car that does, at the end of the day, actually need to be crafted out of real materials and wheeled onto a stage. But the Vision Gran Turismo series imposes no such limitations. Designed only for a virtual reality, the project allows for designers to craft a purely fantastical design whose limits fall barely short of their own imaginations. It presents companies with the opportunity to represent their brand as they want to, so it comes as little surprise that every automaker from here to Hong Kong has been lining up to take part. And the latest is Infiniti. Previewed in a pair of teaser renderings barely over a week ago, the Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo is a suitably striking addition to the virtual world of the Gran Turismo video game franchise. Designed at the company's Beijing studio, the brief calls for a 4.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 hybrid powertrain, with a front mid-ship layout driving a rear transaxle for ideal 45/55 front-rear weight distribution. Beyond that it's all flowing forms, extreme aero and signature Infiniti design cues like a widened version of the brand's trademark grille shape and the kink in the rear pillar. It's got butterfly doors hinged ahead of those spindly mirrors, center-lock alloys crafted from carbon fiber, deeply sculpted aerodynamic elements, a large boomerang-shaped rear wing and aggressive long-hood/low greenhouse proportions. It's F1 meets GT, to hear Infiniti tell it, and whether you've got a PS3 and a copy of Gran Turismo 6 to play around with it or not, you can check it out in the images above and the video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Introducing the INFINITI CONCEPT Vision Gran Turismo The "INFINITI CONCEPT Vision Gran Turismo" has been released on "Gran Turismo 6", available exclusively on PlayStation®3. Infiniti has continued to break new ground in design since the brand was first established. This is a sensuous GT car brimming with the Infiniti philosophy. How to receive it After Update 1.15 has been installed, the car can be purchased from the [Vision GT] area within the [CARS] section in "My Home" (here, you can also find the car's presentation movie).

How Infiniti's 'gas-generated EV' isn't the jumbo shrimp of powertrains

LOS ANGELES — Infiniti recently introduced the concept of what it's calling "gas-generated EV" powertrain technology. At first read, and perhaps everyone thereafter, the term seems contradictory, not unlike "jumbo shrimp." How can an electric vehicle use gasoline? The answer to that is both a technological one and a marketing one. Technologically speaking, Infiniti's electrified powertrain concept is a series hybrid, most comparable to what Honda employs in its Insight, Accord Hybrid and new CR-V Hybrid. In the most basic of terms, the car's electric motor powers the wheels, the battery pack powers the electric motor, and the gasoline engine recharges the battery pack along with regenerative braking. By contrast, a parallel hybrid system as used by Toyota and others can power the wheels with the electric motor, the engine or, most frequently, both simultaneously. The result of a series hybrid is a powertrain that performs and feels more like an electric vehicle, while the engine generally whirs away, often not in step with what your right foot is doing. The Infiniti system is comparable to this, albeit with more powerful motors resulting in a more performance-oriented bent. Here's where things diverge, however. Under certain constant cruise conditions, say on the highway, the Honda system directly connects the engine with the drive wheels for greater efficiency. The Infiniti "gas-generated EV" concept will not, which frees engineers and designers to package the gasoline engine someplace other than under a front hood. In that way, it benefits from the sort of packaging advantages associated with electric vehicles. The closest comparable in this way is the BMW i3, which locates its tiny gasoline engine under the cargo area and does not attach it mechanically to the drive wheels. That's a range extender for an electric vehicle, though, which Infiniti is quick to insist is not what's going on here. There is no plug. This is a hybrid. So what's the deal with that name? If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck Â… Talking with Infiniti Group VP Jeff Pope, "gas-generated EV" is definitely a work in progress or at least a placeholder for something catchier and perhaps less contradictory in the future. "Why we're using 'gas-generated EV' is to get away from 'hybrid,' because 'hybrid' is associated with a parallel hybrid system, which has a gas engine and an electric motor that both run the powertrain.

Race Recap: 2013 Korean F1 Grand Prix crazy enough for Psy [spoilers]

The end of qualifying for the 2013 Korean Formula One Grand Prix left us with five pairs: two chassis each from Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Lotus, Ferrari and Sauber. Yes, Sauber. The last time the Swiss team had two drivers in the top ten was Japan last year, when Kamui Kobayashi converted the grid spot into a podium.
But let's start at the front of the top ten, where Sebastian Vettel put his Red Bull on pole for the 42nd time in his career. He was followed by Lewis Hamilton in second place by two-tenths of a second, Mark Webber in the second Infiniti Red Bull, and Romain Grosjean in the Lotus in fourth. Out-qualifying teammate Kimi Räikkönen again, the Finn would line up in tenth. Nico Rosberg put the second Mercedes in fifth, Fernando Alonso got the first Ferrari into sixth ahead of teammate Felipe Massa, while Nico Hülkenberg led with the first Sauber in eighth, teammate Esteban Gutiérrez showing the promise he was hired for (okay, and his money) in ninth. Except they'd all move up a place because Webber had to serve his ten-place grid penalty after getting his third reprimand of the season in Singapore. That would get Sergio Perez in his McLaren into tenth. Yes, McLaren needed a grid demotion ahead to make it into the top ten.
It was an entertaining top ten that no one would have expected. When the red lights went out, we were treated to one of the most entertaining races of the year - it was Gangnam Style at 300 kilometers per hour.