Archive for Infiniti

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Hot on the heels of the Lexus IS250C is the Infiniti G37 Convertible which will make its European debut in the summer of 2009. The car will only make its first public appearance at the 2008 LA Auto Show this November but a teaser photo of the side profile has been previously revealed, and now a second teaser image is out showing a rear three quarter view. Look after the jump for the first teaser image.

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A first photo of the upcoming convertible version of the Infiniti G37 has been released. The Infiniti G37 Convertible will be unveiled live to the public at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show in November, and will go on sale in the US market in early 2009.

The convertible will feature a 3-piece folding hard top, and its interior’s audio and climate control systems have been tuned to operate at optimum settings whether the top is up or down. Like the G37 Sedan and Coupe, the G37 Convertible will feature the new VQ37VHR engine producing 330 horsepower and 366Nm of torque.

Infiniti has announced a convertible version of the Infiniti G range, which will join its sedan and coupe siblings at the 2008 Los Angeles Motor Show in November.

The Infiniti G range currently consists of the G37 Sedan and G37 Coupe. All-wheel drive versions are also available in the form of the G37x, but don’t expect it to exhibit the same performance as the high-tech version in the Nissan GT-R.

Infiniti plans to differentiate its European-bound cars from their North American counterparts in terms of aesthetics.

Examples of modifications to the European Infinitis that are set to be launched in 9 European markets October this year are knobs instead of push-button switches on the center consoles, heated seats, retuned suspensions, bigger brakes, more powerful windshield wipers, heavier window seals, and between 300 to 500 other changes per car. According to Infiniti, these are all things that an European customer is more used to.

Nissan’s 2.5 liter inline-4 engine may also make its way into an Infiniti, as Europeans are warmer to smaller displacement engines, as compared to the displacement and V8-obsessed American buyer.

Exterior aesthetics may also change, although these changes will likely be minor changes such as the difference between the European Mazda 6 and the American Mazda 6, rather than two outrightly different cars like the American Accord and the European Accord.

The quirky looking new Infiniti FX joints its smaller sibling the EX in the luxury Japanese automakers line-up. It is another crossover SUV, a fusion of a sports car and an SUV according to Infiniti. It is built on the same FM (Front Midship) platform as the Infiniti G37 and G37 Coupe, which is a rear wheel drive platform, with the option for AWD.

The flagship FX50 model will feature the new VK50VE V8 with VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) continuously variable valve lift. It produces 390 horsepower and 500Nm of torque, mated to a new 7-speed automatic with Adaptive Shift Control (ASC), Downshift Rev Matching (fancy name for throttle blipping) and manually shiftable via solid magnesium paddle shifters.

The FX37 has relatively less power and uses a 3.7 liter V6 engine producing 320 PS at 7,000rpm and 360Nm of torque. It also has the 7-speed throttle blipping automatic.

Power is sent to all four wheels via the ATTESA E-TS with Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Traction Control (TCS). ESP can be switched off if desired. If all-wheel drive is not required, the ATTESA E-TS system will channel 100% of torque to the rear wheels.

The suspension at the front is a double wishbone setup, which replaces the previous model FX’s MacPherson strut setup. Standard FX50 dampers are active Continuous Damping Control (CDC) electronically controlled shock absorbers. It takes the input from a variety of sensors and continuously alters the damping of the shocks to provide optimal ride and handling, according to two modes - Auto or Sport.

The FX50 rides on very lightweight 21 inch Enkei wheels wrapped with 265/45R21 tyres. The FX37 has wheels an inch smaller as standard, but 21 inch wheels are also able to be specified by choosing the Sport pack, which also includes the active CDC dampers.

More photos after the jump.

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Earlier this week I wrote about how a stretched 4-door version of the Nissan GT-R to be sold under the Infiniti badge in markets like the US. Theophilus Chin has quickly whipped up a 4-door version of the Nissan GT-R with an Infiniti badge in front.

Somehow I don’t think a stretched version of the GT-R body works well aesthetically because of the way the front wheel arches bulge out. I think Infiniti would have to drastically restyle the car with only its underpinings remaining.

Related Posts:
Infiniti-badged 4-door GT-R coming soon?

The Nissan Skyline R32, R33 and R34 all came with 4-door bodies, though the 2-door coupe variants were far more popular with the car being a performance model and all. Auto Express reports that a 4-door Nissan GT-R is in the works using a stretched version of the R35’s platform, and it will be badged an Infiniti.

The new 4-door performance car will be known as the Infiniti R50, and will use a stretched version of the Nissan GT-R platform.

What’s going to be in the engine bay is still a question though, as supply is an issue for the hand-built VQ38DETT. A VK-based V8 like the 390 horsepower VK50VE may be used instead, but this is a big horsepower deficit against the VQ’s 473 horses.

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The production version of the Infiniti EX Concept revealed earlier in March this year has been unveiled to the public. The new Infiniti EX SUV comes in EX35 guise and features Nissan’s fourth generation VQ35HR 3.5 liter V6 engine putting out 290 horsepower. All that power is channeled through all four wheels through a 5-speed automatic transmission and Nissan’s new ATTESA E-TS (Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All Electronic Torque Split) all-wheel drive system.

Infiniti calls this one a crossover coupe of sorts, putting it head to head against the upcoming BMW X6 crossover. Infiniti says for the moment since there are no other crossover SUV-coupes in that price segment it’s direct rivals are the BMW X3 3.0si and the Audi A4 3.2 V6 FSI quattro avant station wagon.

Other neat features include Around View Monitor (AVM) which uses four small cameras to give the driver a top-down view of the vehicle perimeter for parking assistance. It also has “Scratch Shield”, a special clearcoat paint that uses a special highly elastic resin which automatically repairs scratches such as fingernail scratches under door handles. This repair process takes anytime between one day to one week depending on ambient temperature and scratch depth. Scratch Shield remains effective up to 3 years.

Related Posts:
Infiniti EX Concept: future Infiniti EX35

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I missed a very important photo in the recent coverage of the new Infiniti G37 Coupe. A photo of the interior! Well, here’s one, and you can click on it for an enlarged version for your viewing pleasure. For more details on the Infiniti G37 Coupe, look at the related posts linked below.

Related Posts
Infiniti G37 Official Details Released
Infiniti G37 features new VQ37VHR engine

This is Infiniti’s EX Concept, a new crossover SUV that’s one segment smaller than the larger FX SUV, taking on the likes of the BMW X3 and the upcoming Audi Q5. It will be displayed at the NYIAS 2007. The EX Concept is most likely to go into production as an EX35, using either a VQ35DE or a VQ35HR engine, though the prior makes more sense to me, since the VQ35DE engine has more torque than it’s HQ sibling, thus being more suitable for an SUV application.

While still a concept at the moment, Infiniti says the EX is 95% ready. Plus some of the features on the concept will not make it into production, for example a liquid crystal glass roof that can change from a transparent state to a more translucent appearance.

Something new is the Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) system, which is an evolution of Infiniti’s existing production Lane Departure Warning System. This further enhances the warning system by actually stopping the sleepy driver from accidentally moving out of his lane rather than just warning him. Brakes are applied individually to begin a yaw movement back into the intended lane.

One more rear view shot after the jump.

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