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Today's Shakedown is all about the new Infiniti mid-engine
advanced-tech ICE EV hybrid supercar, the Emerg-E. Yes,
that's the way it's pronounced.
And my da Vinci Code theorem that says this car, Emerg-E,
has got to be connected to the Red Bull F1 sponsorship, Red
Bull engineering, and Red Bull F1 designer, Adrian Newey.
Doing that would be big for Infiniti, big for sports cars,
and maybe big for sports car racing.
No offense to the internal Infiniti team that did the
heavy lifting to bring this concept to life, but to me,
Emerg-E should be the real-world equivalent to the
Gran Turismo 5 Red Bull ex-Sim car to get max benefit for the
Infiniti brand and their performance positioning.
Given the emerging intelligent sports car competition that's
being groomed by pretty much every other brand, Infiniti
needs to ride its Red Bull F1 Sebastian Vettel/Adrian Newey
racing credentials right past all those other guys with
Emerg-E. So today, I'll try to tell you why I'm thinking
about this Emerg-E Infiniti Red Bull connection, layout
out the facts, the information, and
logic as I see It.
Today's Shakedown is another test for you, the viewers, to
see if this show can push your thinking one step farther, and
for me to create an interesting show given the
latest drive dictate that one-topic shows will get more
views than multiple topic
Shakedowns, like last Friday's.
Although if you haven't, I do wish you would go watch that
Friday show, because there, I gave you five things to look
for with NASCAR and the Daytona 500.
And guess what?
All those theorems came true.
Educated guesses, really, just like today's
Emerg-E Red Bull theorem.
You know what?
So maybe--
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Let's start at the beginning of the Infiniti brand to put
the importance of Emerg-E into context.
Infiniti's been around since 1989 when it emerged as a
US-only luxury brand and immediately got hammered for
abstract rocks and trees advertising, and boring cars,
and marketing missteps like the Indy Racing League engine
sponsorship.
But Infiniti has always wanted to be
different and design driven.
These days, reading the official Infiniti documents,
we learned the brand tends to be, of course, design, but
now, more like a powerful brush stroke,
connoting form and force.
And new thinking, not just in design, but now also in
technology and performance.
All is defined by Infiniti to create an experience versus
just showing status to create awe inspiring presence,
optimistic attitudes--
oh, yeah, and the desire to be a global brand with 500,000
sales by 2016.
Infiniti realized success wouldn't happen without
dramatic actions in a competitive marketplace.
And seeking global growth in Middle East, Russia, China,
and European markets, Infiniti did what no one expected--
signed a branding sponsorship with Red Bull F1.
There's your new thinking, new attitude, optimism, and
performance statement right there.
OK, good for brand imagery, and great to have World
Champion Vettel as your spokesperson.
Remember this Shakedown meet up last year at
the Montreal F1 race?
But at some point in time, you need to connect real sports
car performance and tech with real Infiniti cars, not just
do the Vettel edition cosmetics on this FX.
Because last time I checked, the competition in the
intelligent sports car category is going
nuts with new cars.
Hybrids from Porsche with the 918, BMW with the i8, EVs from
Audi, like the E-Tron, and Mercedes, the AMG SLS E-Cell,
curves coming from Ferrari with the new F70 Enzo
replacement, turbine electrics from Jaguar with their CX-75,
and I'd bet there's a Ford GT with compound electric
powertrain being designed.
And here comes my GM shot--
you'd think by now GM must have figured out that a
Volt-inspired high-tech mid-motor Corvette would be a
good thing versus another slow evolution of the overhead
valve V-8 engine and the same front engine.
I'm getting tired of looking at it no matter how many
design cliches from the GTI you stuff into the shape.
But even without Corvette, that's a lot of competitive
hardware out there cluttering for the attention that
Infiniti wants.
So how to make their green supercar, Emerg-E, stand out
when they launch Emerg-E at the Geneva March 6 show?
Well, da Vinci Code clue number one, logic says you've
got to lean on the Red Bull performance connection.
I'm going da Vinci Code, because, really, there's not a
lot of info on Emerg-E out there.
And nobody's talking.
Probably because I leaked the Vettel FX on the Vettel
Shakedown when some Red Bull guy said something he probably
shouldn't have.
So here come the da Vinci Code clues.
Code number two--
two Infiniti execs, both Andreas Sigl, the global
director of Infiniti F1, and Simon Sproule, Infiniti's
Corporate VP of Global Marketing, have both said that
the sponsorship will extend beyond marketing and then to
work on a special quote "totally new Infiniti." Now
that could mean concept or limited production.
But they spoke this way, way back in May of 2011.
Is this the Emerg-E?
Even Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President of Nissan Motor
Company, was quoted, quote, "As Infiniti looks ahead to
the second year of our partnership with Red Bull
Racing, we are extending into exciting new areas of
technical and product collaboration."
Oh, and all these guys, including F1's Sigl, will be
at the Emerg-E launch in Geneva.
That's clue number three.
Now, in fairness to these next parts, they can't be
considered clues.
But they do speak to the focus points of Emerg-E, and the
logic for Newey and for Red Bull engineering.
The videos Infiniti released about Emerg-E speak to new
performance, and quote, "fun on the racetrack."
This car is not just a design exercise to showcase the next
evolution of the Infiniti design language.
Emerg-E is also to present real performance credentials
for Infiniti.
To do that, you best use all the best tools in your shop.
And you'd think turning to Red Bull Engineering for
materials, suspension dynamics, aerodynamics,
powertrain integration, et cetera, would be right up the
alley of a world championship F1 constructor to help
Infiniti do that.
The merger is all about responsible performance, with
new thinking technology, in this case, a micro-small
1.2-liter gas engine with batteries, electric motors,
energy capture tech.
Sounds kind of like the 2014 F1 technology.
I wonder if King Bernie would like it for the championship
F1 team to be associated with a global OEM car company
building a car like Emerg-E. Probably, right?
Lastly, Red Bull Engineering speaks of
growing their business.
Williams F1 Engineering has done such with the hybrid
flywheel system they've built for Porsche.
That flywheel is likely now to be stuffed into the 2012 Audi
R18 LMP World Endurance Le Mans race car.
Williams is also working on that limited-run
CX-75 turbine Jaguar.
So what if Red Bull Engineering got a similar
contract for Emerg-E?
And better yet, what if they got the deal to make the thing
a race car?
Because that's where I'm going to leave you so you can
continue the discussion in the YouTube comments
or @Drive on Twitter.
You know, maybe it is time for Infiniti to actually race an
Infiniti and the tech, not just ride on the Red Bull F1
shoulders of Vettel, Webber, and Newey.
And Emerg-E, as a mid-engine hybrid Infiniti race car,
would look damn good on the GT racing grid--
next to the Porsche 918, the Audi E-Tron, the Mercedes SLS,
the Ferrari F70, that Jag CX-75, the next Ford GT, and
even a mid-engine intelligent tech Corvette.
I'm just thinking.
If I'm rolling onto the GT racing grid or into the retail
sales marketplace, I'd want Red Bull Engineering and
Adrian Newey on my side.
[MUSIC PLAYING]