Vettel named Infiniti director of performance

[CNR]

Vettel named Infiniti director of performance | F1 News | Mar 2013 | Crash.Net (http://www.crash.net/f1/news/189383/1/vettel_named_infiniti_director_of_performance.html )
Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel (http://www.crash.net/f1/racer_bio/28/sebastian_vettel.html) was confirmed as Infiniti's director of performance this week at the New York International Auto Show.

This latest announcement 'extends' and 'enhances' Vettel's relationship with Infiniti which formally began in 2011. In this capacity, the three-time F1 world champion has already played a crucial role in developing Infiniti's vehicle line-up, starting with the exclusive Infiniti FX Vettel Edition and most recently with the all-new Infiniti Q50.

“Sebastian's talent and ability behind the wheel is unquestionable and his role in developing Infiniti vehicles has already proven invaluable,” said Infiniti president Johan de Nysschen. “How many premium automotive brands can honestly say its vehicles have been developed alongside a triple World Champion?

[Dave B]

It was supposed to be Webber's role, but Vettel decided to take it anyway. :p

[markabilly]

but Vettel did not do it deliberately.......

uptop h? b?n

[zako85]

It would be cool to see a true performance oriented Infiniti car that could live up to Vettel's name, something like a tuned G coupe (sort of a BMW M3 or Lexus IS-F competitor).

[Jag_Warrior]

Infiniti still wants halo car, GT-R variant ruled out (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/26/infiniti-still-wants-halo-car-gt-r-variant-ruled-out/)


Take a good look at the lineup of cars at Infiniti (http://autoblog.com/infiniti). Notice anything interesting? We see sedans of multiple shapes and sizes, wagon-like crossovers, a hybrid and even a massive SUV, which is the most expensive machine the company has on offer. What we don't see, though, is a clear range-topper.

According to Car and Driver, that fact doesn't sit very well with Andreas Sigl, the man at the head of Infiniti's Formula 1 (http://autoblog.com/tag/f1) relationship with Red Bull (http://autoblog.com/tag/red%20bull). "A halo car would help us ... It could bridge the gap between Infiniti and F1."

With an Infiniti version of the Nissan GT-R (http://www.autoblog.com/nissan/gtr/) apparently off the table (http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/08/gt-r-powered-infiniti-flagship-officially-canned/), we're not really expecting any kind of halo car that will bring to mind the raw performance of an F1 racer. Still, the options available to Infiniti are intriguing: the Emerg-E (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/03/06/infiniti-emerg-e-concept-geneva-2012/) and Essence (http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/03/geneva-2009-consider-the-show-stopped-infiniti-rolls-out-its-e/) concepts are reportedly being considered for production.

[Dave B]

I see the Infinity brand as more blingy than aspirational. I can't see teenage boys tearing down their Ferrari or Lambo posters and sticking up pictures of some anonymous shape.

[zako85]

I see the Infinity brand as more blingy than aspirational. I can't see teenage boys tearing down their Ferrari or Lambo posters and sticking up pictures of some anonymous shape.

Once they grow up, most teenagers realize that they can't afford a Lambo or a Ferrari. But an Infiniti G or BMW 3-series is well within reach. I know in Europe Infiniti is not very popular, but in America Infiniti's G cars go head to head with BMW 3-series in minds of people looking for a quasi-affordable performance coupe or a sedan.