The well-received Infiniti Essence GT may not have become a reality -at least not yet- but it's getting its own artwork in the form of a collector's edition sculpture, penned by the car's original designer under the supervision of Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer Shiro Nakamura. The "Essence Sculpture" is made from solid resin and production will be strictly limited to 300 individually numbered units worldwide.

Continuing its cooperation with the famed fashion house Louis Vuitton, Infiniti also ordered a bespoke carrying case that was handcrafted in Louis Vuitton's workshop in Asnieres, France.

The "Essence Sculpture" with Louis Vuitton case will get its world debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week and go on sale through the Infiniti merchandise website at infinitilifestyle.com beginning in December. The price for the sculpture alone has been set at US$300 plus shipping. If you want the personalized Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite case, you'll have to order and buy it separately, so forget about getting the sculpture and giving the case to your 'amore' as a Christmas gift...

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While we're still trying to find out if Infiniti's freshly sketched dedicated EV (see here) will make its debut at next week's 2010 Mondial de l'Automobile, here's an Infiniti concept that has been confirmed for the show. The Infiniti Performance Line (IPL) G Cabrio Concept is the second car to wear the Japanese firm's sporty IPL badge after the introduction of the G Coupé in North America in the summer.

As you'd expect, the IPL version of Infiniti's four-seat hardtop cabriolet shares many of the coupe's styling and performance enhancements.

Under the hood, you'll find a modified version of the standard car's 3.7-liter V6 delivering 338 PS at 7,400 rpm and 374Nm of torque. The regular Euro-spec model gets by with 320 PS at 7,400 rpm and 360Nm. For the record, the US-market IPL G Coupe's V6 produces 348-horsepower.

Infiniti says the tuned convertible accelerates from zero to 100km/h (62 mph) in under 6 seconds, while top speed of the de-restricted concept car, which has a seven speed automatic transmission with magnesium paddle shifts, is more than 270 km/h or 168mph.

The concept model's suspension has also been upgraded with 10% stiffer springs and recalibrated dampers, while body sits a little lower to the ground.

In the looks department, the Paris Show model's exterior is finished in a new a pearlescent black paint with red hints called "Malbec Black" while the interior is covered in Monaco Red leather.

Exterior upgrades include a new front bumper, blacked-out grille and headlight surrounds, sculptured side sill extensions and a boot lid spoiler. The huge exhaust tail pipes and 19-inch 7-spoke rims complete the list of changes.

As for the interior, the centre console is finished with black lacquer while the dashboard area above the glove box and doors are adorned with a decorative trim called KACCHU, which according to Infiniti, is a name given to the armour used by Japan's feudal warlords, or samurai, in the Middle Ages.

Although billed as a concept, we all know that an IPL flavored G Cabrio will be offered sooner or later in the States. As for Europe, here's what Infiniti stated: "A decision on launching IPL Infinitis in Europe will be taken later after reaction to the IPL G Cabrio Concept has been considered."