More good news is coming out of Nissan, this time regarding its Infiniti division and the 4×4 offerings of both brands. It seems that record losses, the closing of major factories, and job cuts have forced the company to shake things up. And surprise, that involves doing things long-time enthusiasts have been asking for all along.
The item that’s likely most musical to the ears of JNC readers is the possibility of a manual-shift high-performance Infiniti sports sedan. “Infiniti is committed to that vehicle,” Tiago Castro, Senior Vice President of US Marketing and Sales for both Nissan and Infiniti brands, told The Drive.
The sedan would almost certainly share a drivetrain with the RZ34 Nissan Z, which has a 400-horsepower VR30DDTT mated to a 6-speed stick. That engine is already in the Q50 Red Sport, but has thus far been only offered with an automatic. “We need that connection with where the brand is. Going back to where Infiniti was successful. It’s when we connected with our customer base. And our customer base wants a Q50S performance car that they can drive,” Castro said.
If it happens, it would hearken back to when the Nissan 350Z and Infiniti G35 shared identical platforms and drivetrains. The two-pronged attack struck a chord with enthusiasts, one whose impact can still be felt today as those cars continue to find fans.
As most SUVs are moving towards turbo fours, Nissan is affirming that the revived Xterra will have a V6. Ponz Pandikuthira, Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer for Nissan North America, told The Drive that enthusiasts don’t want a four-cylinder SUV. “They prefer the V6, they want the V6,” he said. “It’s for the driving personality of a V6 over a four. So decision number one, the [internal-combustion engine] will be a V6, and it’ll be hybridized.”
Pandikuthira believes you can match the fuel economy and emissions allowances with a V6 by adding hybrid technology to it. From there, “You’ve got to make an architectural decision because you like the torque profile and the overall performance and the feel and even the cache that goes with a V6 over a four-cylinder,” he explained. There’s something unsexy about a four-cylinder Land Cruiser, and if Nissan can offer a compelling body-on-frame alternative the V6 may be the Xterra’s ace up its sleeve.
Nissan’s most outlandish idea, however, comes in the form of a potentially 700-horsepower high-performance Infiniti QX80. Castro told The Drive there is “huge demand” for a vehicle like that, as evidenced by demand for the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat and Cadillac Escalade-V.
As ridiculous as such a vehicle is, it may actually make sense for the Infiniti brand. First of all, halo cars are meant to be a little wild. Secondly, it would be positioned as a flagship for an Infiniti performance line. That way, the manual sports sedan won’t have to carry the whole brand’s performance credentials alone.
The problem with Infiniti is that it doesn’t commit. After the success of the G35, it wasn’t able to keep that momentum going. There was the short-lived IPL line, the Eau Rouge concept, Project Black S prototype with a nod to F1 hybrid tech, but it’s lacked the guts to see those initiatives through.
Something as outrageous as GT-R engine-powered QX80 in Midnight Purple, like the one shown at SEMA last year, signals that Infiniti is a marque that emphasizes performance, not a badge that has one sports sedan in a lineup of soccer mom SUVs. They probably won’t sell a lot of these cars, and the enticing logic of the beancounter will be strong, especially in a time when pursestrings are tight. But at this point, what does Nissan have to lose?
