INFINITI Wants Blood – The Plan to Beat BMW, Mercedes and Lexus Performance Divisions
Agent00J submitted on 6/7/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 12:31:13 AM
155 user comments | Category: Spy News | Source: www.autospies.com
Product planners at Infiniti are aware of the voids that exist in their current lineup.
The G35/G37 does double duty against both the BMW 3 and 5 Series, and the M35/M45 serves as the current large car competing with the BMW 5 Series as well as the Mercedes E-Class, Lexus GS and Jaguar XF. The FX35 & FX50, EX35 and QX56 do a good of competing with the sport utility offerings of BMW, Lexus and Mercedes, however there is still a void in the lineup planners are getting closer to fill as new engines and platforms are coming to market.
The void we are talking about, a competitor to the M cars from BMW, the AMG cars from Mercedes-Benz and the new kid on the block, the F car from Lexus.
AutoSpies.com has not missed this void either, and bring you 2 concepts that will bring to market a viable player in the factory tuned specialty market. A profitable segment that Infiniti wants to be a part of.
Currently within the Nissan/Infiniti lineup two platforms exist which would help defray a large portion of the development cost, and allow Infiniti the opportunity to field cars capable of running with cars bearing the letters M, AMG and f.
G50s
The Infiniti G50s sports sedan and coupe is a flared fender monster motor variation of the current G37 sedan and coupe. In the G50s setup, the new 5.0 liter 390hp V8 from the just introduced FX50 is shoehorned into the engine bay of the G body giving us a 400hp+ car that based would run 0-60 in less than 5 seconds, and that could blast through the ¼-mile under 13 seconds nipping at the heals of the M3, C63 and the IS-f.
For those of you who doubt the viability or feasibility of such an animal, consider this, the FX50 is based on the FM (front midship) platform, the same platform as the current G37. Only minor modification is necessary to allow the G to accept the V8 of the FX, and with enhanced breathing and exhaust, the 5.0 V8 can easily be massaged to over 400hp.
The beauty of such a proposal from Infiniti is given the size of the G37 sedan, this car could serve dual roles competing not only with the smaller M3, but with the M5 as well given the fact that in terms of size, the G is closer to the BMW 5 Series than it is the 3 series.
And as if that isn’t enough, consider the second proposal…
Q-GT
The much talked about 4-door version of Nissan’s GT-R. Imagine a car that drives off the showroom floor capable of beating ALL offerings from BMW, Mercedes and Lexus in terms of acceleration and performance. This factory 4-door will be capable of running with names like Ferrari and Lamborghini; of course you couldn’t bring 3 friends along for the ride in either the Ferrari or Lamborghini like you could with the Q-GT from Infiniti.
And Infiniti knows they wouldn’t have a tough time at all selling either vehicle, and the exciting thing is the vast majority of engineering work has already been completed making time to market relatively short.
The biggest hurdle now is deciding which concept would best make its mark in the marketplace. The advantage to the G50s concept is cost. The components and driveline system for the Q-GT is extremely expensive. Fitting the G with the 5.0 V8 would be the more economical route, and would bring to market a vehicle similar in size to the M5 and E63 that is priced comparably to the M3, C63 and the IS-f.
Secondly, but just as important is the establishment of the performance orientated division. Lexus took the plunge last year by introducing their “f” division, Infiniti needs to establish their skunk works division and start developing a brand name that people lust after. Nissan currently has the Nismo division, but drawing from that heritage has the potential to create a down market persona for a brand that Infiniti wants to be thought of as world class. This is an area that is open for discussion, Infiniti does not have a huge heritage to fall back on, and as such suggestions are accepted as to what to call their performance division.
Infiniti has all the makings of becoming a true player across a full spectrum of vehicle offerings, will it pull the trigger and bring to market one of these two sports sedans, and if so which one should it be. Does the economical engineering cost of the G50s win out over the more expensive Q-GT, or should the Q-GT be the halo car for Infiniti like the GT-R is for Nissan?
Or should they both be brought to market?
We PROPOSE, you DECIDE.
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