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At long last, Infiniti plans a production EV

After years of false starts, it appears that Nissan's Infiniti division will finally launch a production electric car in 2019 and debut it as a concept in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Details at this point are scant, but Infiniti Executive Design Director Alfonsa Albaisa told Autocar the EV would be an all-new electric-only vehicle based on a new platform. Citing the company's grand prix-inspired Prototype 9 racecar concept that was shown a few weeks ago at Pebble Beach, Albaisa said consumers would see "parts of the car in a different context" on the concept EV. The Prototype 9's all-electric powertrain was developed by parent company Nissan's Advanced Powertrain Department. The last we saw of any electric offering from Infiniti was way back in 2012 with the LE Concept sedan, which was supposed to show up in dealerships two years later. Those plans were initially postponed in 2013 and then again in 2015 amid doubts over EV sales projections and larger concerns over boosting overall Infiniti sales. The LE had a 24 kWh lithium-ion battery pack paired with a 100 kilowatt electric motor delivering 134 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque. Related Video: Featured Gallery Infiniti Prototype 9 at Pebble Beach View 26 Photos Related Gallery Infiniti LE Concept: New York 2012 Green Infiniti Concept Cars Electric Pebble Beach

Watch Formula Drift's Chris Forsberg break in a new warehouse

Here are just a few great drift cars: Toyota AE86, Mazda RX-7, Nissan Z, Nissan Silvia, and Ford Mustang. One vehicle you won't find on that list, however, is the Infiniti M, because it's a big, heavy luxury car.
It's comfortable, spacious and better to drive than you might expect. And yet, even though it was possible to get one with a very nice 335-horsepower, 4.5-liter V8, it wouldn't be the first car we'd gut and take drifting in an empty warehouse. Formula Drift driver Chris Forsberg didn't get our memo, evidently, which is why we have this video of him flinging a big, white Infiniti through an empty building.
It's an entertaining video, if only because using an M as a drift car is just such a ludicrous sight. Scroll down to watch the entire clip.

Infiniti Prototype 9 is a wonderfully beautiful EV grand prix car

Few automobiles are as elegantly beautiful as the open-wheel grand prix cars of the 1940s, '50s and '60s. The simple, slender shapes of these cars bear no extravagant flourishes or adornments. The purposeful design is what gave these cars their beauty, and it's these classic machines that inspired the new Infiniti Prototype 9. Teased earlier this week, this concept blends old and new, with classic lines hiding a modern all-electric powertrain. The Prototype 9 will make its full debut next week at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Infiniti says the car was built around a simple idea: what would a 1940s Infiniti grand prix car look like? While the silver paint may be more German than Japanese, the design could easily be mistaken for an actual '40s grand prix car. Only the Infiniti-styled grille gives it away. Everything about it, from the thin bias-ply tires wrapped over center-locking wire wheels to the bulging screws around the driver's seat, is pitch perfect. Underneath that achingly long hood rests a prototype electric motor and battery from Nissan's Advanced Powertrain Department. The combo sends 148 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque straight to the rear wheels. That's good enough to send the svelte 1,962 lb car to 62 mph in just 5.5 seconds. Top speed is right at 106 mph. While speed may die off towards the top end, all that torque and a 43/57 front to rear weight distribution should make the Prototype 9 a riot on a small, tight circuit. There's only enough juice in the battery for about 20 minutes of flat-out racing. The handmade steel body rests on a steel ladder-frame chassis. The front suspension uses a leading-arm rigid axle with transverse leaf spring while the rear uses a De Dion axle, also with a transverse leaf spring. The Prototype 9 also uses old-school hydraulic rotary type dampers. There's no power steering and no brake booster for the four-wheel disc brakes. The car was designed and built by a number of different departments within Infiniti and Nissan. A simple sketch expanded as more and more designers and engineers wanted to have a hand in the project. The steel body panels were all shaped and hammered by hand. The bare cockpit is only adorned with a thin seat, three gauges, a few switches, a gear selector and the steering wheel. The gauges are set into a fixed aluminum hub in the center of the steering wheel.