Infiniti Project Black S prototype will bring functional F1 tech to Paris
Unlike last year's design study, this one appears to be fully functional.
At the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, Infiniti unveiled the Project Black S design study, which gauged consumers' reaction to a potential trim line that merged Infiniti's road-car tech with Renault's Formula 1 tech. This year, a Project Black S prototype is headed for Paris, and it's apparently functional.
Infiniti announced that it will bring the Project Black S prototype to the 2018 Paris Motor Show next week. Initially just a design study, Project Black S relies on a bit of Formula 1 technology to create something Infiniti calls a "dual-hybrid" powertrain. The car will receive its official unveiling on Monday, Oct. 1, the day before the show opens to the press.
The Project Black S prototype charges the electric side of its hybrid system in two different ways. Like many other modern hybrids , it is capable of capturing energy during braking and generating electricity from it. But in a F1-flavored twist, it also has two generators on the gas engine's twin electric turbochargers, which harvest the heat created during acceleration to generate even more juice. Both these systems are present on modern F1 race cars.
On its own, the Project Black S prototype's 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 puts out 400 horsepower. Combined with the boost from the prototype's hybrid system, net output rises to a proper 563 horsepower. Infiniti believes the car's power-to-weight ratio is sufficient for a 0-to-62-mph run in less than four seconds.
Looking at pictures of last year's design study next to the photo Infiniti provided with its release, the two vehicles don't look all that different. The new prototype gets some yellow accents on the tires and front fascia, but otherwise it looks the same as before -- gaping-maw aerodynamics up front, big ol' air extractors on the hood and a stonking wing out back. Roadshow will be on the ground in Paris, so we'll get up close and personal with the car to see if anything else has changed.
