Will Infiniti Build The First Mainstream Electric Sports Car?Will Infiniti Build The First Mainstream Electric Sports Car?

By almost anyone’s standards, the first electric-powered sports car of the modern era was the 2009 Tesla Roadster. Built from a modified Lotus Elise platform, the Tesla showed what was possible in terms of both range and performance when cost wasn’t a consideration.
The Tesla Roadster’s $109,000 starting price excludes it from most shopping lists, but there’s clearly a demand for an electric-powered sports car.
Now comes word that Infiniti will show a two-seat, rear-wheel drive electric sports car concept at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The electric motor will be mounted behind the seats, making it a “mid-motor” design.
Not much is known about the car, but speculation is that it will borrow heavily from the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC racer shown above.
That one-off racer featured a weight-saving carbon-fiber tub, a low and aerodynamic profile, and a mid-motor, rear-wheel drive layout that produced 107 horsepower and 207 foot-pounds of torque.
Infiniti could also choose to produce the car with a range extending generator, and it may look to Formula 1 partner Red Bull Renault for technology relating to a Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
The two-seater will join the already-known Infiniti electric sedan in the company’s lineup, with both vehicles expected to hit the market in 2015.
[Autocar, via Motor Authority]
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