Infiniti’s Project Black S asked a more interesting question than how much power could fit beneath a Q60’s hood. Could a luxury coupe use Formula One-inspired energy recovery to make its performance more immediate and repeatable? Developed with Renault’s racing operation, it was an attempt to give electrification an enthusiast identity—not simply an economy mission. Infiniti’s original project announcement framed it as an exploration of a possible new performance grade.
The answer never reached a showroom. By March 2021, reporting citing an Infiniti spokesperson confirmed that production was off. That makes Black S a historical engineering experiment, not an impending rescue for Infiniti performance. Its appeal now lies in the distinction between demonstrating an exciting technology and developing a complete car that customers can buy, maintain and enjoy.
From design proposal to working prototype
There were distinct stages to Project Black S. The 2017 Geneva concept tested interest in a more ambitious Infiniti performance offering. Its modified Q60 shape suggested what a Black S grade might look like, while its proposed hybrid system outlined the engineering ambition. A concept unveiling was not a production commitment.
The next significant step came with the prototype presented in Paris on October 1, 2018. Then, on August 15, 2019, Infiniti announced that Renault F1 and Infiniti engineers had completed track-focused powertrain development. Two prototypes had been evaluated at Austria’s Salzburgring, with Nico Hülkenberg involved in signing off that work. The same 2019 announcement still described production as a decision to be made. Black S had become more than a styling exercise, but not a finished retail product.
Recovering energy in two different ways
The proposed architecture paired the Q60’s twin-turbo V6 with three motor-generator units. One recovered kinetic energy during braking; two others worked with the turbochargers to recover exhaust energy. Electricity could assist turbo response and provide propulsion assistance. Infiniti called this a dual-hybrid system because it harvested energy through two different routes, rather than simply adding two traction motors. Its technical description specified a 4.4-kWh battery.
The useful distinction is between storing energy and deciding when to spend it. Black S pursued both. As an engineering proposition, that is more demanding than quoting a combined horsepower figure: the attraction depends on assistance arriving when the driver needs it. Recovering energy during acceleration as well as deceleration broadened the concept’s possibilities. It did not, by itself, establish a measured fuel-economy advantage or prove that maximum assistance would always be available.
563 horsepower was a manufacturer figure, not our test result
Infiniti quoted 420 kW, or 563 horsepower, for the hybrid powertrain, compared with 400 horsepower for the conventional V6. The company also targeted acceleration from rest to 100 km/h in less than four seconds. Those figures belong to the manufacturer’s prototype announcement, not an independent instrumented test. The acceleration benchmark is approximately 62 mph, not 60 mph.
That distinction matters because an output specification cannot describe an entire driving experience. Enthusiasts would reasonably want to know how consistently the system delivered assistance, how naturally its controls responded and what happened after repeated hard use. The completed track-development milestone shows that the project progressed beyond presentation graphics. It does not substitute for a published road test, and it gives us no basis to invent impressions of its throttle response or handling.
Carbon fiber could not settle the comfort question
Lightweight materials and aerodynamic changes were integral to the proposal from the beginning. Infiniti’s 2017 explanation connected the carbon-fiber bodywork with aerodynamic performance, cooling and the desired visual character. Those are specific development objectives, not evidence that an aggressive-looking coupe necessarily rides comfortably.
The later prototype’s published specification listed a curb weight of 1,775 kg, or 3,915 pounds. Carbon-fiber components therefore should not be confused with proof of an exceptionally light complete vehicle. Nor does their presence demonstrate that handling improved without any comfort tradeoff. The responsible assessment is narrower: Black S combined substantial performance ambitions with a recognizable coupe platform, while everyday refinement remained something to establish rather than assume.
The difference between a halo experiment and a halo car
Black S never became the performance flagship its styling suggested. The 2021 cancellation reporting closed the production question, and Infiniti’s own Q60 history page records the underlying coupe’s discontinuation in 2022. Neither should be confused with a current new-car offering.
Yet dismissing the project as merely a concept would overlook its documented development work. Equally, treating it as a proven everyday super-coupe would give it credit for questions it never publicly answered. Its most compelling idea was that electrification could shape how performance was delivered, rather than simply supplement an engine’s peak output.
A halo car must ultimately turn that idea into an ownership experience. Project Black S stopped short of that threshold. It remains worth examining precisely because the ambition was real and the outcome was incomplete: an intriguing route toward an electrified Infiniti performance identity, but not the production car that could establish one.
Cover: The 2017 Infiniti Q60 Project Black S design concept at the Poznań Motor Show on April 6, 2017. Photo: Jakub "flyz1" Maciejewski / Wikimedia Commons. Photographer: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Flyz1 . Licensed CC BY-SA 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . Indicate any changes and distribute adaptations under the same or a compatible license. · Photo source · Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0). Original photograph; WordPress may create display-size derivatives.
Sources
- INFINITI and Renault Sport Formula One join forces to create Project Black S
- In electrification push, INFINITI to reveal Project Black S Prototype
- INFINITI Project Black S: The ultimate test-bed for motorsport tech
- Renault F1 team completes INFINITI Project Black S powertrain tests
- Remember The Infiniti Q60 Project Black S With F1 Tech? It's Dead Now
- INFINITI Q60 Luxury Coupe
- INFINITI Project Black S — Newsroom Photo
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