Infiniti doesn’t have much in the way of motorsports heritage. Sure, its logo is currently plastered all over the open-wheelers of the Red Bull RacingFormula One team, but that’s little more than a series of stickers – the turbocharged V6 hybrid still comes from corporate cousin Renault.
Perhaps realizing that, the company is dipping its toe into the motorsports pool in a much bigger way (albeit in a far smaller series). The Nissan-owned luxury brand will campaign its Q50 sedan in the notoriously rowdy British Touring Car Championship with a new factory team, called Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing.
The team works with British veterans’ charity Support Our Paras, and actually will employ a number of injured vets as part of the team, according to the report on Motor Authority.
The Q50 BTCC car needs to comply with the series rules, which call for a turbocharged, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. It’s the manufacturer’s choice on whether the mandatory six-speed sequential gearbox distributes power to either the front or rear axles. The car itself is being developed by Pro Motorsport and will likely see its track debut this year.