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Infiniti teases electrified performance concept for Pebble Beach

If it's a single seater like the teaser suggests, it wouldn't be Infiniti's first concept like that.

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This is the first concept under Infiniti's new executive design director, Karim Habib, and it looks to be a pretty solid start.

Infiniti

Infiniti's recent slate of concepts has been pretty out there, and it doesn't look like that'll change at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Infiniti announced today that it will debut a new concept at Pebble Beach later this month. All we know about it so far is that it's electrified, which means it could be anything from an EV to a plug-in hybrid, and that it's meant to showcase that Infiniti will stay dedicated to performance vehicles after it moves to electrify its portfolio.

The automaker also included a teaser image, which appears to show a long, thin single-seater. There's what appears to be a fin of some kind right behind the seat, and the steering wheel looks pretty futuristic. At first, I saw the shape and thought it would be a speedboat of some kind, but that might be a bridge too far even for a concept vehicle.

If anything, it draws some stylistic parallels with the Prototype 9 concept that debuted at last year's Pebble Beach show. It's a futuristic reimagining of a 1940s-era race car with a electric powertrain. The whole thing was built by hand, including the body panels, which were shaped with hammers, just like they used to do. Heck, it even had bias-ply tires.

Infiniti's concepts of late have been pretty gnarly. In addition to the Prototype 9, the company also rolled out the Q Inspiration concept, which is believed to preview the design behind the next generation of Infiniti's sedans . It's a proper looker, with aggressive elements up front and some interesting bodylines heading aft. We'll find out what this new concept looks like on Aug. 23, but if these concepts are any indication, it'll be great.

Infiniti Prototype 9 concept sports next-gen Nissan Leaf tech

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Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
Andrew Krok
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.

Article updated on August 9, 2018 at 9:05 AM PDT

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Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
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