It was very smooth, powerful and looks fantastic. Probably doesn't handle quite as well as my 98 Q45, but it's pretty close. In straight line acceleration, I think the 280 horses and 3,600 pounds would beat a Q (mine has 266 horses and 3,900 pounds). It is not nearly as good as the G35 but there is something to be said for looks and drop top driving pizazz.
It clearly blows away the Ford Mustang GT convertible premium I drove recently. The Lincoln lineage of the platform (LS sedans) really shows.
If it were cheap enough, I'd buy this in a heartbeat. Problem is it stickers around $40,000 with the hardtop (just about all of them now come with said HT). The X-plan price available to me (because my brother works for the Ford plant in Kansas City) is $38,101. With tax and other sundry items out the door, price goes up to almost $42,000.
Too rich for my blood, unfortunately.
I35 here I come.
AZHitman, I did that Autotrader research we talked about and you are right...a bunch of people are asking $18,000+ for high mileage 98 Q45s like mine. Problem is none of them have received that yet. If I list and sell and $16k, there is no deficiency and I might be able to grab a G35 after all. We will see. Tomorrow is the Pinnacle Infiniti day of reckoning.
--don