Infiniti BTCC challenger will be rear-wheel drive

The Infiniti Q50 which competes in next year’s BTCC will be rear-wheel drive, championship officials have confirmed.

At the launch of Infiniti Support Our Paras Racing last week, driver Derek Palmer Jnr said a decision hadn’t been made on the drivetrain of the Q50.

But series officials have since confirmed to TouringCarTimes that the car will be rear-wheel drive.

Under the NGTC rules, the cars must mirror the drivetrain of their road-going equivalent. In the case of the Q50, it is rear-wheel drive.

The only exceptions on the current grid are the rear-wheel drive Audi A4s of Rob Austin Racing. The road-going car is front-wheel drive, but due to it having a longitudinally mounted engine, it wasn’t possible to build it as a front-wheel drive car due to the technical constraints of NGTC.