Infiniti and beyond: Hong Kong gets glimpse of Project Black S, F1-inspired road car of future

Driving a Formula One racing car on the road may no longer be an impossible dream for the general public in the near future.

For the luxury carmaker Infiniti is jointly developing the first Formula One-inspired road car with the Renault Sport Formula One team.

The matte grey hybrid concept car, Project Black S, which uses F1 technology and engineering, is based on the 400hp, 3.0 litre V6 twin-turbo Infiniti Q60 coupe.

First unveiled at this year’s Geneva International Motor Show in March, the car is the latest project between Infiniti and the Renault F1 team, which first teamed up last year to develop hybrid Formula One car technology.

A prototype of the car, hailed by Infiniti and Renault as the “first road-ready F1-inspired car” was recently unveiled in Hong Kong at Infiniti’s Wan Chai showroom.

“In one year’s time, we will make a decision about [whether we will be] going into [mass] production or not,” says Tommaso Volpe, global director of Infiniti Motorsport, which is now developing two demonstration versions of its concept car.

Since new F1 regulations were introduced in 2014, F1 car development has shifted towards the use of hybrid technology. This led to Infiniti – renowned for its hybrid technology – collaborating with Renault.

“With [Project Black S] ... we are taking advantage of the expertise of Renault and its technology and transferring it to our core business,” Volpe says.