Cars Model 2013 2014 2015

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

2014 Infiniti Q50 hits the web early, courtesy of... Infiniti

2014 Infiniti Q50 hits the web early, courtesy of... Infiniti Well, what do we have here? It seems that Infiniti.ca, the official Canadian website of the Japanese automaker, accidentally published a load of 2014 Q50 images ahead of its official debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.

2014 Infiniti Q50 hits the web early, courtesy of... Infiniti

2014 Infiniti Q50 hits the web early, courtesy of... Infiniti

2014 Infiniti Q50 hits the web early, courtesy of... Infiniti

As you can see in our high-res image gallery of screen shots above, the 2014 Infiniti Q50 carries along in the footsteps of the marque's current curvy design language. There's the requisite pinched chrome grille, upswept headlight clusters, and a hood with multiple flowing ridges, peaks and valleys.

2014 Infiniti Q50 hits the web early, courtesy of... Infiniti

As confusing as the newly Q-infused lineup may be on paper, there's simply no mistaking the new Q50 for anything but an Infiniti. You can expect a whole slew of images, facts, figures and commentary on the new luxury sedan on Monday, but until then, feel free to let us know what you think in the Comments.

2014 Infiniti Q50 hits the web early, courtesy of... Infiniti

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model Feast your eyes upon the all-new 2014 Infiniti Q50. Say what you will about Infiniti's new Q and QX naming system, but after looking at the new Q50 unveiled today at the Detroit Auto Show and checking out its feature list, we're having a hard time coming up with any additional criticisms. The highlights of the Q50, which goes on sale this summer in the US, include the eye-catching design, innovative cabin technology and a fuel-efficient hybrid model.

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model headlight 1

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model grill

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model headlight

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model interior

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model mirior

The Infiniti G has always had a focus on leading-edge styling, and its replacement is no different. We can easily see that the basic theme of the Q50 was inspired by the Infiniti LE Concept we saw earlier in the year. The edges are a little toned down for the production design, but the overall look is there with the fluidic lines, crescent-shaped C-pillar, the now-signature grille and the horizontal headlights and taillights. Compared to the current G Sedan, the Q50 is longer, wider and lower than its predecessor, and it's also more aerodynamic with a drag coefficient of just 0.26, putting in between the Chevrolet Volt (0.28) and the Toyota Prius (0.25).Step inside the Q50, and you'll see a very familiar cabin with one significant exception: the center stack. The new Infiniti InTouch system features a pair of large and independent displays (yes, two) that utilize touch and hand-gesture controls. The climate and some of the audio controls are operated by actual buttons, but everything else is controlled using InTouch. One of the big benefits of this system is that a user can search and set destinations on one of the screens while the other is still displaying the map. There are also numerous apps that come preloaded into the system, and a new i-Key feature allows the car to recognize up to four different keys, allowing each driver to customize as many as 96 vehicle settings. As for the rest of the interior, it gets the same styling we've come to expect from Infiniti.

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model

The base engine for the Q50 is carried over from the G37 with a 3.7-liter V6 producing 328 horsepower and 269 pound feet of torque, but the big news in the powertrain department is the addition of a hybrid model. Using a similar system to what is now known as the M35h (soon to go by the Q70 name), the Q50 Hybrid is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 paired to a 50 kW motor and compact lithium ion battery to give a total power output of 354 hp. Fuel economy estimates were not released for the hybrid, but in the M35h, this system is rated at 27 mpg city and 32 mpg highway; being newer and lighter, we wouldn't be surprised to see much better numbers for the Q50 version. Both versions of the car use a seven-speed automatic with rev matching, and the Q50 will come standard with rear-wheel drive and offer all-wheel drive as an option. Additional powertrains will eventually be added for global markets, but these have not been announced either.New driver technologies that the Q50 offers are Direct Adaptive Steering and Active Lane Control. Direct Adaptive Steering consists of an electric power steering system, but it ups the ante by allowing each wheel to be controlled independently and offers four different driver-selectable modes. Active Lane Control, meanwhile, is a part of the Lane Departure Prevention system, and it helps Q50's driver use fewer steering inputs by compensating for crosswinds and road conditions (i.e., road crowns) in addition to the LDP's ability to keep the vehicle in its intended lane. The Q50 will also allow for some performance options such as a sport-tuned suspension, upgraded wheels and summer tires

2014 Infiniti Q50 debuts G-replacing design, new hybrid model

Analyzing De Nyscchen's 25-year comeback plan for Infiniti

Analyzing De Nyscchen's 25-year comeback plan for Infiniti When Johan De Nysschen left his post at Audi of America last year to take the seemingly thankless job of leading Infiniti's global operations, it seemed like a familiar scenario. Like Michael Dukakis going from one of two men that could have won the White House to teaching political science at an obscure Florida college.

Analyzing De Nyscchen's 25-year comeback plan for Infiniti

De Nysschen was a key architect in rebuilding Audi in the US, from a punchline about "sudden acceleration" in the 1980s, to being a truly hot brand and legitimately vying with BMW and Mercedes-Benz for one-percenters' German car bucks. In talking about his task at Infiniti with me, he repeated a line that I wonder if he mentioned to Nissan-Renault honcho Carlos Ghosn at the hiring meeting: "It took us 25 years to bring Audi back in the US. This kind of thing takes a long time."

What's he up to? On the surface, Nissan has made a few moves to get Infiniti its own identity within the company. The organization moved from Tokyo to Hong Kong and registered a new company ID: The Infiniti Global Ltd. When he got there, he said, "The cupboard was emptier than I knew." So De Nysschen is also directing the new product plan, as well as asking ad agency TBWA/Chiat Day to put together a walled-off agency for his brand, rather than having the agency divide teams for both Nissan and Infiniti.On the hardware front, Infiniti will employ a high-performance four-cylinder engine from Daimler by way of an alliance between Nissan-Renault and the German automaker. And it will also get a vehicle platform from Daimler that Infiniti and Nissan are co-developing – an arrangement that is similar to the alliance Volkswagen has with Porsche for the Cayenne and Touareg.

What did he tell Ghosn was his recipe for fixing the 23-year-old brand? "We have to have our own powertrains, our own designs, our own identity. You can't run a premium brand like you run a mass-market brand." His goal before he packs it in? "To be accepted into the club of global luxury car brands."Sales target? Fasten your seat belt. Though Infiniti sold fewer than 200,000 globally in 2012, the former Audi US chief says he plans to reach 500,000 sales by 2017. Granted, he says, a big chunk of that will come from China. Still, we are reminded of what the kidnapper told Liam Neeson in Taken when he warned the bad guy not take his daughter: "Good luck."

Infiniti's global ambitions are just that. More than half the company's sales are in the US, though it is sold in 15 countries with just 230 dealers. There has been a long established pattern of cars that are sold as up-market Nissans in Japan sold as Infinitis elsewhere.

One of the first marketing measures De Nysschen tackled was model naming. He has ditched the haphazard nomenclature of the G, M, J and FX for a new system going forward, whereby all sedans and coupes will be called Q – as in the new Q50, which is the updated G37. All crossovers and SUVs wil be called QX followed by a double digit number.Ironically, back in the 1990s, De Nysschen had to meet with Infiniti officials to discuss a beef over model naming because Infiniti had the Q prefix, and Audi wanted to use it for what became the Q3, Q5, Q7, etc. The compromise was that Audi would have to stop at Q9, and Infiniti, he says, will use Q and QX followed by double-digit numbers.

Yeah... that ought to be clear to everyone.Analyzing De Nyscchen's 25-year comeback plan for Infiniti

So, Infiniti has had one consistently praised model, the G, which is also the only model prefix with any name recognition associated with Infiniti. And he scrapped it as first order of business?

Lest we think De Nysschen is a bit mad or a masochist, we should remember that Liam Neeson did actually get his daughter back in Taken after killing, like, a hundred Albanian bad guys, and suffering only a shoulder wound and a gimpy leg.

Analyzing De Nyscchen's 25-year comeback plan for Infiniti

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants We've known since mid-December that Infiniti's new global model naming convention would turn the current-generation G37 Coupe into the Q60 Coupe starting next year, but we haven't been clear on whether the model-range-formerly-known-as-G would get a successor, especially as its volume has traditionally been a lot lower than its sedan counterpart.

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants grill

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants interior

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants logo

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants headlight

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants door panel

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants headlight 1

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants shiffter

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants wheal

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants side mirrior

Thankfully, Infiniti president Johann De Nysschen (above) has stepped up to confirm that the newly revealed Q50 sedan will receive a two-door counterpart, though perhaps not as quickly as some would like. According to an interview with Australia's CarAdvice.com, De Nysschen says "the coupe we can probably expect two-and-a-half to three years down the road." That news also suggests that if there's an eventual convertible version, that it's a long way off, too. Why so long? Infiniti has "a lot of priorities" – priorities that undoubtedly include an already-confirmed front-wheel-drive small hatchback/crossover.

The report also indicates that Infiniti has some aspirations for stretching its new Q50/Q60 range in a higher-performance direction to take on competitors like BMW and Audi, the latter being De Nysschen's former employer. There's far from a firm timetable offered, of course, with De Nysschen saying "someday in the future we will be able to offer more high performance versions [of Q50] than we have today... the dynamic capabilities of this platform are very significant. It can handle far higher power than the engines we are using at launch."

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants

Infiniti has long envisioned itself as Japan's answer to BMW, and from where we sit, high-performance models would likely help keep the brand focused as it branches out into new segments like that of the JX, a three-row crossover with few sporting pretensions. In addition, its nascent Infiniti Performance Line [IPL] franchise could use the help – we've been underwhelmed with the pricy IPL G Coupe and Convertible to this point, and Infiniti will need to work harder if it truly wants to align its products with its growing Formula One marketing efforts.

Infiniti boss De Nysschen confirms next-gen Q60 Coupe, ponders high-performance variants

Monday, 4 March 2013

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9 This is the car and the team that everyone wants to dethrone. The stability of this year's regulations means that the Infiniti Red Bull RB9 is a seriously honed RB8; however, that's a situation probably no other team would complain about seeing that the RB8 recovered from early stumbles and reliability issues last year to carry Sebastian Vettel to a third consecutive driver's title and the team to a third consecutive constructor's trophy.

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9

The most noteworthy revisions to the car are the partial vanity panel that omits the driver cooling slot, the even narrower rear end – a feature of just about every car launched so far – and purple sidepods to showcase new title sponsor Infiniti. Adrian Newey, perhaps the most feared designer on the pit lane, said the nose and front wing could be changed relatively easily throughout the season, but he wanted to make sure to get the middle of the car – everything from the sidepods, back – as good as possible since they're more difficult to re-engineer. His track record leads us to believe he did just that.

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9

Below are two videos, one of the making of the RB9, the other the launch at team headquarters in Milton Keynes.

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9

Nissan's new front-wheel-drive hybrid system will be greener, just as powerful

Nissan's new front-wheel-drive hybrid system will be greener, just as powerful For those who want to cut to the chase about the latest revelations of Nissan's pending front-engine, front-wheel-drive powertrain – i.e. the FF Hybrid – it's got the same power with less fuel.

Nissan's new front-wheel-drive hybrid system will be greener, just as powerful

That's what Green Car Congress says, citing a presentation Nissan executive Owen Thunes, speaking at the recent SAE 2013 Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technology Symposium conference in Southern California. Thunes says the 2.5-liter, four-cylinder successor to the 3.5-liter V6 that's now in the Infiniti M hybrid (pictured) will boost fuel economy while providing a similar amount of torque. The Japanese automaker will achieve this through advancements in making the transmission more efficient and by using a smaller lithium-ion battery, making the mill lighter thriftier with gas. The drivetrain will be suitable for a wide range of cars and SUVs, Nissan says.

Nissan's new front-wheel-drive hybrid system will be greener, just as powerful

Last October, Automotive News reported that the FF Hybrid may debut in the Infiniti JX three-row crossover, with a new hybrid model featuring the new powertrain debuting each year.

Nissan's new front-wheel-drive hybrid system will be greener, just as powerful

2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid gets bigger, better battery pack, lower MSRP

2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid gets bigger, better battery pack, lower MSRP Just yesterday, we told you how Hyundai's 2013 Sonata Hybrid was late out of the gate (along with its mechanical twin, the Kia Optima Hybrid), with growing speculation suggesting that the company was revisiting its gas-electric sedan with an eye toward improving its efficiency.

2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid gets bigger, better battery pack, lower MSRP

2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid gets bigger, better battery pack, lower MSRP

2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid gets bigger, better battery pack, lower MSRP

Well, today Hyundai has released official details, and that's exactly what's happened. Sporting a larger starter generator, a higher output electric motor and a more potent 47 kW lithium polymer battery, the 2013 Sonata hybrid is more efficient than before. The revised hardware helps the sedan jump two miles per gallon combined over its 2012 predecessor. That pushes the 2013 Sonata Hybrid to 36 mpg city, 40 mpg highway and 38 mpg combined. Engineers also tweaked the machine's software, with revised driving pattern detection and engine on/off logic.

2013 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid gets bigger, better battery pack, lower MSRP

Surprisingly enough, the new battery pack actually weighs less than the kit in the old Sonata Hybrid, taking up less room in the trunk. Engineers shaved 4.6 pounds from the pack and the vehicle's cargo area now boasts 12.1 cubic feet of space compared to the 10.7 cubes in the outgoing model. Hyundai has yet to release any images of the updated model (a 2011 example is pictured), so presumably the revisions are limited to what's beneath the sheetmetal.

Even with all the changes, the Sonata Hybrid now carries a base MSRP of $25,650. That's $200 less than last year, and now buyers can option up to the Sonata Hybrid Limited at $30,550, plus destination. No word on any changes for the Sonata's Kia counterpart, but we'll keep you informed if anything comes to light. In the meantime, check out the full press release below for more information.