The hype surrounding the Infiniti Emerg-E turned out to be false hope, but Infiniti->ke36 may still have plans for the concept. The coulda, shoulda, woulda halo car recently died out at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed after reports leaked out that its performance may not be as impressive as Infiniti had originally reported. We're sure having to be towed away definitely wasn't in the plans. All of that being said, in a recent interview with Inside Line, Shiro Nakamura - Nissan and Infiniti design chief - said that the company is still hoping that the Emerg-E will become the new flagship model for the Nissan luxury brand.

According to Nakamura, the Emerg-E could still be built in limited edition in Britain and Lotus->ke49 could potentially be behind the build considering the Emerg-E is loosely based off the experimental Lotus Evora 414E hybrid.

Other possibilities for a new flagship Infiniti model are an SUV or a sedan. Either way, he suggested that the 2014 G sedan and a new small hatchback will feature design elements from the Emerg-E. The new G sedan is expected to be unveiled in 2013, while the hatchback, previewed by the Etherea concept, will be unveiled in 2014.

"Today's G looks a bit fat, but the new G has really nice proportions, and it's much sportier," Nakamura said. "The compact hatchback is very expressive, but not like the FX->ke1260. I'm very content with them."

Any hopes for a great hybrid super car from Infiniti may be dead in the water, but we're still banking on the back that the company has the Essence Concept in its back pocket. Whether they'll do anything with this 592 hp petrol-electric hybrid ace in the hole is a whole other argument.

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