This is Infiniti’s new BTCC car

By topgear ,

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Infiniti has revealed to the world a car set to compete in the 2015 British Touring Car Championship. Yeah, us neither.

Surprising most of the racing world in one fell swoop, the luxury arm of Nissan announced this morning that it would back the non-profit 'Support Our Paras' team. 'Support Our Paras' is the official charity of The Parachute Regiment.

Team principal Derek Palmer will oversee the squad, which will include a number of injured paratroopers who will work on the car throughout the season.

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The team's driver line up consists of Richard Hawken - triple club championship winner - and Derek Palmer Jr. And, as you can see in the pictures above, they'll be driving a pair of very, very angry NGTC Infiniti Q50s.

No word on spec has been released, but using the BTCC 'Next Generation Touring Car' guidelines, we know that both cars will run modified 2.0-litre turbocharged engines with over 300bhp, a six-speed sequential gearbox and rear-wheel-drive.

There'll also be an assortment of body paraphernalia that instantly transforms the humdrum Q50 from curious saloon to something verging more towards the cooler side of the wall. Looks good, doesn't it?

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Not only that, but the team has honourable aims, too, raising funds for the "welfare and benevolence" of injured Paras and their families. All profits generated by the team will be donated to the SOP charity.

BTCC director Alan Gow said: "It's fantastic to welcome a new manufacturer to the BTCC and particularly a premium brand such as Infiniti."

Let the paint-swapping commence...