If you heard of a gasoline-powered electric car, you'd think it was a punchline from a satire place like The Onion. But Infiniti is very serious about the idea. And believe it or not, but it works better than expected.

The automaker is working on what they call a gas-generated EV. The system combines an electric powertrain with gasoline as a fuel source. A small gasoline generator will power electric drive systems. This offers what they consider "the best of both worlds," allowing for fast fueling and longer driving ranges of petroleum and the instance and silent torque provided by electric motors. The vehicle runs quietly and still has significantly fewer emissions than a traditional combustion engine.

To be clear, the engine, a variable-compression, turbocharged engine with three cylinders and a displacement of 1.5-liters, does one thing only: provide electricity. This is either toward the electric battery in the vehicle or directly to the electric drive motors. None of the propulsion is done by the gasoline.

Performance-wise, all of the punch comes from the electric part of the vehicle. With two motors, one for each axle, the all-wheel-drive system is expected to push anywhere between 250 and 430 horsepower. And with instant torque, it could hit 0 to 60 times in as quickly as 4.5 seconds.

Infiniti hasn't revealed what vehicle model this new system will be installed in first, but it's supposedly going to debut in a new luxury sedan. Time will tell.