1:20 am, September 20, 2011
THE boss of Infiniti has promised if the firm builds the FX Sebastian Vettel it won’t be just a marketing exercise.
Many manufacturers have produced F1-inspired cars to capitalise on their investment in the expensive world of motorsport, but few have pulled it off successfully.
Fiat tried with special Schumacher editions and Honda had a crack with an offensive yellow Jordan-badged Civic. However, Infiniti will be aiming to reproduce the most successful of all – the Clio Williams – with its FX.
‘For this special version everything has been designed with a purpose,’ explained Infiniti Europe commercial director Guillaume Pelletreau.
‘It’s not just Pimp My Ride and it’s not just there for the design. It’s about downforce, it’s about acceleration and it’s about clearly reminding us of the F1 environment.
‘The wing at the back of the car is clearly designed for downforce and is based on the requests of Sebastian Vettel.
‘It’s not just about marketing. If we produce it there will only be a few hundred units.
‘The point here is to deliver a message and that is that this is the ultimate expression of what we like to stand for. It’s inspired performance by Seb Vettel.’
The FX was unveiled by the current F1 World Championship leader at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Vettel revealed he had asked for a number of changes to be made on the car which resulted in a lower, more aggressive machine. His FX is capable of 186mph with the 5.0-litre V8 producing 414bhp.
Although still slated as a ‘concept’ it is unlikely the maker would have gone to all this effort – or have flown in Nissan top man Carlos Ghosn – simply for a car that would never make production…
