Infiniti Q50 NGTC

Right from its initial announcement ahead of the 2015 British Touring Car Championship season, the Infiniti Q50 was an unusual car. A manufacturer-backed entry - but not a works project, in the words of Infiniti - the team was partnered with a charity for wounded paratroopers, several of whom would work on the project as part of the race team. Supporting an admirable cause and with some funding from Infiniti, if nothing else it sounded like a project that would prove popular with fans.

Unfortunately, everything went south remarkably quickly. Early performances weren't especially impressive, but given the circumstances that wasn't too surprising. The expectation, at least from everyone else's perspective, was that the team would be aiming to gradually improve its competitiveness rather than flying out the traps from round one. Apparently nobody told Infiniti this, though; after just three rounds they pulled their financial backing and the team was on its own.

The now independent effort continued on for the remainder of the season, though scaled back to a single car. Several drivers had a shot in the second car at the start of the season, including ex-F1 driver Martin Donnelly, while Derek Palmer Jr contested the full season in the lead car. He scored a single points finish at Snetterton - in 15th place - but ended the season on a negative points total due to a penalty.

Unsurprisingly, the team didn't return for the 2016 season; and that really should have been the end of the Infiniti Q50's story. Retrospective pieces were written in the subsequent years, and it quickly became an obscure piece of BTCC trivia. That was, until midway through the 2019 season. Out of nowhere, Laser Tools Racing announced they would be switching from their Mercedes A-Class to run one of the old Infinitis for the second half of the year. They were quick to stress the car had undergone substantial work to bring it up to 2019 standards, but even still it seemed like a baffling - though intriguing - decision at the time.

Its first half season in the hands of Aiden Moffat was largely uneventful, with the Q50 proving relatively uncompetitive. A freak second place in unpredictable conditions at Silverstone was a clear highlight, and provided Infiniti with its first ever podium in the championship; an outcome nobody could have anticipated just a few months prior.

2020 would be the year the Q50's reputation was turned on its head entirely, however. Expanding to a two car squad, the team signed 2017 champion Ash Sutton and recruited staff from his former team (the BMR manufacturer Subaru entry); and the rest was history. Right from the first round the Infiniti was an entirely new beast, with Sutton securing its first race win in only his third race in the car. He took four further victories en route to his second BTCC crown, completing a scarcely believable redemption arc for the Q50.

Things got even better in 2021, with Sutton once again scoring five race wins to claim the drivers' title. Aiden Moffat enjoyed a far better second season with the Q50, scoring a race win and a few podiums as he ended the year eighth in the standings. Sutton moved on for the 2022 season, and the Infiniti rapidly dropped off the pace in its final season. Regardless, its incredibly unlikely place in BTCC folklore was well and truly established.