Infiniti's new coupe concept revealed 15 | 02 | 2011

INFINITI IS THE latest manufacturer to reveal a new concept which will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The Etherea concept previews a stylish new front-drive coupé-hatchback that will go into production in 2014.

Borrowing styling cues from its previous Essence concept, the Etherea's new front and rear-light clusters preview Infiniti’s new design language which is set to appear on its next range of G-series models.

Infiniti states clearly that the new car will be aimed squarely at young buyers who are in the market for a 'luxury' mode of transport.

"It is not just a smaller version of a typically conservative and traditional luxury car,” Infiniti’s global business unit chief Toru Saito said.

At 4.4m long, the highly stylised concept blends aspects of coupé, saloon, hatchback and crossover – the Etherea has a raised ride height and large carbonfibre-trimmed alloys.

Close scrutiny of the image released by Infiniti shows the car carrying a hybrid badge; this is expected to be our-cylinder petrol-electric drivetrain with hybrid technology, lifted from the company's new M35h. It's expected the production version of the Etherea will also be available with urbocharged four-cylinder engines from Mercedes.

But there's no need to go rushing to the Infiniti centre in Glasgow just at the moment; the Etherea isn't planned to go into production until at least 2014, a year after Infiniti launches its own luxury electric car based on the Nissan Leaf.

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Jim McGill