2024 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:13
Nissan's luxury offshoot Infiniti launches its remodeled M model range in 2010. The Japanese gave the first look at the car at the Concours d'Elegance in California - in the form of a 3D presentation.
By Sebastian Viehmann
If you want to present a car for the top ten thousand, you don't exactly do so in the Aldi parking lot next door. The Concours d'Elegance on Pebble Beach near Monterey, California, has established itself as a presentation platform for luxury cars. It is not for nothing that Bentley, for example, is presenting its Arnage successor there before it can be seen at the IAA. And Infiniti is also using the 59th Concours to present a novelty to the wealthy public. The completely redesigned M series is to be seen for the first time at Pebble Beach - in the form of an elaborate 3D presentation.
New body design
The new Infiniti M generation gets a redesigned body design with a low front section and muscular fenders. The massive hood with the curved, almost organic-looking lines is strongly reminiscent of the Essence concept study, which was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The interior is extremely elegant with lots of leather, wood and metal applications. As with the current models, the M series, which has not yet been sold in Europe, can be expected to be fully equipped ex works.
The new sedans are called M37 and M56. The M37 is likely to have a revised version of the well-known 3.7-liter V6 engine under the hood, while the M56 could hide a 5.6-liter V8 engine behind the model name. For the market launch in Western Europe, the M series will alternatively have the new V6 diesel engine on board. The Japanese are still silent on the performance and consumption data. The entire range of engines, which is dominated by naturally aspirated V6 and V8 engines, will be stronger than before in terms of displacement and power. At the same time, consumption has been reduced. The current engines all have more than 300 horsepower. The luxury SUV FX 50S, for example, has a whopping 390 hp.
Limited engine selection
Infiniti is Nissan's luxury brand, similar to Lexus at Toyota and the Acura brand, unknown in this country, at Honda. The range includes powerful SUVs from the FX and EX series as well as a coupé and a sedan from the G series. To date, Infiniti has 20 sales centers in Europe, including Paris, Madrid, Milan, Athens, Warsaw, Rome and Amsterdam. The market launch in Germany is still a long time coming.
In terms of price, the vehicles are very attractive alternatives to Land Rover, BMW or Mercedes due to the high quality of workmanship and the lavish equipment. When it comes to driving dynamics, the sporty vehicles, especially the Coupé G37, cut a good figure. But the engine selection is very limited. So far, only large V6 and V8 petrol engines have been offered. Hybrid drives and, above all, the diesel drive, which is important in many markets, has been a long time coming - at least next year there should be diesel.
M series starts in 2010
Worldwide sales of the new M series will start in spring 2010. A new safety system called SCP (Side Collision Prevention System) will also be presented in the car. It warns the driver if the electronics detect another vehicle in the vicinity of a collision when there is an imminent lane change. If the driver does not react, the car should be brought back to its original lane in good time by steering intervention.
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