Report: On-Again, Off-Again Infiniti Essence Concept May be On-Again

After previous reports had suggested Infiniti’s stunning Essence concept would never be any more than a shinny piece of auto show metal, word has now emerged that the luxury automaker may turn this fantasy into a reality.

According to a report in Motor Trend, one Infiniti executive, Shiro Nakamura, once again referred to the hybrid supercar as ,” only a showpiece… for now.” This exciting news was then reiterated by another exec, Ben Poore, who said that based off of the car’s incredible reception, the company is still considering a production model and that no final decision either way has been made.

Infiniti has yet to confirm if it will show the car at the upcoming North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but it will be on display at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Canada in February, as well as at the Montreal International Auto Show in January, suggesting that Nissan’s luxury arm continues to probe the market to see if there is a demand. We hope there is!

GALLERY: Infiniti Essence Concept

[Source: Motor Trend]

hile on the subject of product updates, Infiniti’s brass was keen to drop a few more nuggets on us. Among them is a major redesign of the QX56 full-size SUV coming next summer. Poore says it will still be body-on-frame and retain the same towing capacity, but will be almost unrecognizable compared to the current vehicle. Also coming in the relatively near future is a pure electric vehicle, though Poore wouldn’t say much more than that it will be a performance-oriented luxury sedan. Another Infiniti exec, Shiro Nakamura, casually mentioned that the show-stopping Essence concept is “only a showpiece…for now.” Poore tells Motor Trend that reaction to the concept has been phenomenal and that the company is studying the possibility of a production model, but no decision has been made yet.