QX70

Make
Infiniti
Segment
SUV

Sebastian Vettel goes fast, so it is fitting that Infiniti's fastest car yet was a specially designed FX crossover for the current Formula One World Champion. What originally began with a conversation in Geneva between the world-renowned racer and Infiniti's Chief Creative Officer became a six-month project that culminated today at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. Infiniti took their cues from a brief from Vettel and completed their project in time to debut in Germany.

The crossover was designed for speed and speed alone. Carbon fiber and aerodynamic pieces are found throughout the package to further enable performance. Some nice accoutrements were added on the interior give the FX a stylish and modern look (raw carbon fiber and black finish on the panels and dash along with suede seats), however they were just basic amenities for a car built for performance. Top speed is measured at 186mph and the FX is good for a sprint of 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds. The speed limiter was taken off the VVEL V8 which helps account for how all that speed got there. The engine has been reworked to put out 414hp.

The aerodynamic touches came from Infiniti's engineers and designers who used a Red Bull Racing RB7 racecar as inspiration. They sat the FX Crossover 20mm lower, affixed an Essence-inspired grille and carbon fiber rear wing. It sits on a set of 21-inch alloy wheels and carbon fiber is featured on everything from the sills to the to the mirror covers. A total of 101.4lbs is saved from the standard FX. Technical achievements are a claimed 30 percent improvement on the lift coefficient and a 5 percent lower drag coefficient. Sebastian Vettel's FX Crossover is quite the engineering achievement and we look forward to seeing even more of Infiniti's ride at the Frankfurt Auto Show.