It’s been just 12 months since the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance was rocked by Infiniti’s unveiling of a Pre-War inspired concept named the Prototype 9. It was one of the best looking concept cars of 2017, and it was electric, which is what everyone is asking for nowadays. All this means that Karim Habib’s first job as chief designer at Infiniti must be a stunner, and the first glimpse we’ve got suggests just that.

Last year, among all the priceless exotica from the past, Infiniti unveiled a car that draws much of its exterior design from racing cars of the ‘30s and ‘40s but is very much living in the future. The Prototype 9 was a head-turner that reminded everyone of the Silver Arrows built by Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union while also underlining Infiniti’s desire to go fully electric in the not so distant future. In fact, the company says it will launch its first electric car in just three year’s time.

Karim Habib has taken up the task of designing the latest sports-oriented Infiniti concept, his first project as Head of Infiniti Design. The man is no stranger to dramatic concepts and even designed the Vision Next 100 for his previous employer, BMW.

"Our new concept provides clues to where the Infiniti brand is heading,” said Habib as part of a succinct statement released by the company. “For us, electrification means performance – our electrified cars will be powerful, efficient, and fun to drive, and the new concept is a physical representation of our electrified performance future.”

Also with the statement came one sneak preview which leaves much to be desired – not because of what we can see, but because of what we can’t. The image, bird’s-eye view of the car’s cockpit, tells us this much: you won’t be able to take any passengers along for the ride in Infiniti’s new electric beast as it only has one seat. A hump can be seen right behind the seat, akin to the Jaguar D-Type from the ‘50s. The cabin is carved in a triangular shape with what seems like huge intakes being visible towards the rear. They are covered by stylish grilles that somewhat remind us of the grille on the nose of the Prototype 9.

What can we tell from all that? Not much, frankly. If this were a car with an internal combustion engine, you could figure it has the engine in the middle, but this doesn’t have a conventional powerplant. What's more, Infiniti didn’t ever spill the beans on how the concept’s been christened, so we’ll have to wait until the 23rd of August when it will be seen before a host of curious eyes on the lawn at Pebble Beach.

We hope it will be more than just a design study, rather a preview of what Infiniti’s new sports cars will look like in the future under Habib’s design leadership. We’ve already seen the Q Inspiration concept which could be what the upcoming electric Infiniti sedans will follow design wise. We’ll have a more compelling idea of all of this in the very near future.

Further reading

Read more Infiniti news.

Read our full review on the 2017 Infiniti Prototype 9.

Read our full review on the 2018 Infiniti Q Inspiration Concept.

Read more Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance news.