Infiniti Emerg-E Concept First Drive – Video

It’s not every day you get to sit inside a concept car, and driving one is an even rarer occurrence since these special vehicles are typically one-offs that are more precious than gold to automakers. Against the odds AutoGuide got a very brief test drive of the beautiful Infiniti Emerg-E show car at the Nissan 360 media event in Southern California.

Like it or not, hybrids and electric vehicles are the future of motoring and every automaker is developing advanced new drivetrains including, of course, Nissan.

The Emerge-E is a prototype of sorts for a new electrified drivetrain. It features a series hybrid powertrain and rear-wheel drive. Believe it or not the car is built on a Lotus architecture and features one of their engines. The Emerg-E has lots of carbon fiber and some innovative aerodynamics as well. They’ve even got some patents on a couple of those aero elements.

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A 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine serves as the range extender and delivers some 35 kW or power, roughly 45 horsepower. As mentioned it’s a series hybrid, which means the engine is NOT connected to the wheels, it ONLY charges the battery. Four electric motors drive the rear wheels, two on each side and. Output totals 402 horsepower!

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The car has a 30-mile electric-only range and can run from zero to 130 MPH in just 30 seconds!

Out on the tiny test loop we were able to evaluate the car on the Emerg-E proved its performance abilities. This car is FAST, delivering INSTANT torque from a standstill and shockingly fast acceleration.

The Emerge-E is features intriguing technology and emotional design. It’s a glimpse of what Infiniti has in the works and let’s hope any production car that becomes of this is just as effortlessly quick.