- The Emerg-e had a 1.2-liter engine and a pair of electric motors.
- Design cues from the concept still surface on Infiniti models today.
- If Infiniti wants a new halo model, the Emerg-e would be perfect.
Infiniti has never built a better-looking or more interesting concept car than the one it rolled out in 2012. The Emerg-e Concept broke cover in Geneva, then crossed the Atlantic for its North American debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it pulled the kind of attention normally reserved for cars with a production date. It never got one, and the project went nowhere.
No Infiniti before it had put the engine behind the driver, and when the Emerg-e landed, expectations that it would reach the road ran high. It was also the first Infiniti developed primarily in Europe, with Nissan Design Europe in London handling much of the styling and Nissan’s European Technical Centre in Cranfield doing the engineering. Some of the funding came through the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board, which put Infiniti in touch with suppliers and technologies outside its usual orbit.
Read: Infiniti’s QX80 Concept Looks Ready To Pick A Fight With An Escalade-V
Not only did it look the part and still looks fresh some 14 years later, but it also premiered with what seemed like a radical powertrain at the time, but one which is now quite common across the industry.
The Powertrain That Arrived Too Early
At the heart of the concept was a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine from Lotus, used exclusively to recharge the lithium-ion battery pack, making the Infiniti Emerg-e a range-extender. Driving the wheels were a pair of electric motors, each rated at 201 hp (150 kW) for a combined 402 hp and 738 lb-ft (1,000 Nm), all of it routed through a single-speed X-TRAC transmission. Infiniti quoted 4.0 seconds to 60 mph (96 km/h) and 30 seconds to 130 mph (209 km/h) from rest.
By modern range-extender standards, the Infiniti’s 15 kWh pack was small, but it was enough for an all-electric driving range of more than 30 miles (48 km). Once the battery was depleted, the 35 kW (47 hp) three-cylinder engine fired up as a generator, giving the Emerg-e a claimed 300-mile (483 km) combined range. Infiniti also quoted CO2 emissions of just 55 g/km on the NEDC cycle.
The lithium-ion pack used phosphate chemistry and sat behind the seats. A full charge took around 10 hours from a 120-volt outlet, or six hours on a low-current 240-volt supply.
A Design That Still Works
For as interesting as the concept’s powertrain was, it was obviously the design that stunned those who had the pleasure of seeing it in person. Infiniti was designing some extraordinarily sleek cars during this time, and the mid-engined layout of the Emerg-e works wonders for the flowing lines and curves which dominate the exterior.
The shape came from Randy Rodriguez, a California-based Infiniti designer whose proposal beat submissions from the company’s studios in Japan and the UK. The concept also completed a trilogy that started with the Essence and continued with the Etherea. Traces of it survived on cars like the Q60.
An Interior With Ideas
The interior was more exotic than anything Infiniti had built to that point. It featured a futuristic steering wheel, digital gauges, and a floating central spine between the seats that reads today like an early sketch of the C8 Corvette.
Even the theatrics had some thought behind them. The blue instrument lighting turned purple as the driver pushed harder. On startup, streaks of light swept through the cabin for three seconds and then stopped, presumably before the spectacle became irritating.
Still Waiting On A Sequel
Infiniti has spent the years since mostly building SUVs and crossovers in all sorts of sizes and shapes. The Emerg-e was the last time it had something different parked on a stand. The design still holds up, and the range-extender layout almost nobody was offering in 2012 is the one plenty of automakers are now scrambling to bring to market. Perhaps it’s time to dust off the idea.
