An established super marque and a fledgling premium brand are each planning to debut showstopping twin-turbo concept sportscars at next January's Detroit motor show.
It is a measure of the importance of the North American market to Mercedes-Benz's sports arm, AMG, and Nissan's upscale Infiniti marque, that the mid-winter Motor City show has been chosen for the unveilings, each of which will be historic in its own right.
In the case of Infiniti, it will be the first sportscar the brand has debuted.
The styling theme the high performance two-door will follow was displayed as a concept sculpture at this month's Nissan 360 product showcase in Portugal. Designed by Infiniti's new designer director, Takashi Nakajima, the new car will almost certainly be built on Nissan's Premium Midship platform -- the same chassis that underpins Nissan's mighty GT-R.
Nakajima told the Carsales Network his 'sculpture' showed the essence of the new sporty.
"Seductive, with a flowing, very distinctive plan view" is how Nakajima described the form which 'bookended' his other high profile work-in-progress -- the shrouded profile of the new generation Zed -- at the Portuguese event (more here).
"You will see the distinctive plan view [in the production car]," Nakajima said. "[But] It [the scupture] is scaled up from our small models. We are joining together with our engineering people to create a more realistic 'layer' now.
"At this moment we will present the real car at Detroit," he revealed.
Nakajima would not confirm the platform choice, but hinted that the car may go beyond the GT-R in mechanical spec and performance. Speculation is mounting that the rear-wheel drive Infiniti will not simply carry over the GT-R's running gear.
Is a twin-turbo V8 too long a bow to draw, then?
Not for the first ever car to wear the AMG badge alone, it seems. That's right, according to information secured by the Carsales Network, the sportscar concept that AMG will unveil at Detroit, will not be branded Mercedes-Benz AMG, but simply, AMG.
And what a car it promises to be... Powered by a new twin-turbo version of AMG's bespoke V8, the new car will reprise the lines and name of the famous 300 SL Gullwing.
The Vision AMG will it's believed spawn a very limited production run of both coupe and roadster versions. Smaller and lighter than the current flock of Mercedes SLs, the new AMG flagship is expected to pump out more than 400kW and around 850Nm.
It won't however replace the McLaren SLR. That car is expected to be farewelled via a restyled open version of the current SLR Roadster, codenamed Z199. Expect that car to break cover not at a motor show, but at a high profile UK event later in the year.
AMG and Infiniti won't have all the Detroit limelight either -- it seems. Both Lexus and Honda have hinted at supercar roll outs at the showcase event.
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