Possible new Q45 debuting in 2010?

[maxnix]

Nissan/Infiniti have their performance vehicles already.

I say go ahead and make a GT-R inspired sedan, but call it a G50 (keeping it with the G series family). Then, make a Q50 boasting the same power plant, but offering more 'gadgets' and plenty more room.

Yeah, but beyond the G37S, there is no true performance sedan like the Germans, IS-F and CTS-V are.

The G37 is based on the FM platform, but the GTR is based on the PM platform, so labeling it a G50 may not be consistent.

If one needs more gadgets (self parking? ) than the optioned Y50, one is in bad shape or very very very bored.

[qship96]

Infiniti needs a full size lux flagship with interior room to match the stretched versions of all their competitors{audi,mb,bmw}--- currently they produce no car with enough rear seat room to compete.

The q45 {all 3 versions} borderlines on cramped in my book as far as rear seat room.I dont need super powerful or super gadgets....just roomy enough to drive people around without feeling cramped!!!!!

My Q is effectivly a 3 seat automobile when I am behind the wheel as my seat is all the way back{I am 6-3} leaving zero legroom for the preteen squeezed in the seat behind me!

[maxnix]

Infiniti needs a full size lux flagship with interior room to match the stretched versions of all their competitors{audi,mb,bmw}--- currently they produce no car with enough rear seat room to compete.

But why?

Except for the S series, those are all about 12K in sales for each marque. Better a performance sedan as a flagship like the CLS and A5 (although a cooupe).

Abandoning the gadget laden ultra luxo barges makes marketing sense.

[qship96]

Why???? Because when you take clients out, its nice to have a big roomy comfortable back seat to sit in......why the power brokers all have the stretched Audi, lexus, MB, BMW..... kind of hard to ask clients to squeeze into the back seat of a coupe....the g50 is almost punishment enough!!

[Infinitiguy19]

I hate to say this but if Infiniti Brought over the President Long version and kept that as the Q45 then I think people would have been more happy.

But I like the back seat its like riding on air in my Q45.

[Unnatural1]

OMG...Brian and I agree for once!

Infiniti is more of a sporty luxury brand similar to BMW. BMW's flagship 7-series is pretty nice but not like a Mercedes S-series in my opinion.

Originally, the G50 Q45 was intended to be a luxury sport sedan. They didn't even put in wood grain until 1994 when customers demanded it. To me the later Q45's deviated from this original concept. I still like those cars but they are not quite true to the original as far as the sport part of the equation goes. They don't need to and they probably won't win the gadget war. Mercedes and Lexus can fight that one out. I would like to see Infiniti with a performance/sport sedan flag ship again.

[Infinitiguy19]

Here here, Now me and Unatral agree on something too.

[maxnix]

I would like to see Infiniti with a performance/sport sedan flag ship again.

That is indeed the point. The y50 M50 is the large sedan. There is not enough volume in the large luxo barges, no reason to have two in the line.

A performance sedan is what is needed

[MinisterofDOOM]

Tibbs and Qship see where I'm coming from.

Infiniti cannot exist as a valid competitor in the luxury brand marketplace without a big superlux car. It doesn't have to be a yacht...look at the E38 7 and the first-gen S8. But it needs to be big and roomy and pretty posh. The fun of those boats is that even if they aren't fantastic performers from the factory, you can MAKE them good performers with some tweaks, tuning, and maybe a couple turbos (Dinan...).

To be a valid competitor, a big car is REQUIRED. A little halo performance car is NOT.

The CTS-V is a good example:The first one was seen as too hardcore by most Caddy buyers. The new one is a blend of both lux and sport AND it outperforms its less-lux predecessor. The two are not mutually exclusive. You can engineer around the problem of size where performance comes in (again E38). But you cannot engineer luxury around a small car. It does not work.

Plus, for guys like me, a pretty fast big car is a lot more fun than a really fast little car. And guys like me are EXACTLY who Infiniti needs to get back. The G doesn't appeal to us, it never has. And the Q is dead. Infiniti doesn't need ANOTHER little sports car. They need to fill out their model line before they go messing around with weirdness like a 4 door V8 GTR.

And in regards to the 4 door V8 GTR: at that point, what is even left of the GTR anyway? The GTR is a TT V6 coupe with AWD and a rear-mounted transaxle. Take all of that away and you don't have a GTR anymore. So what's the freaking point? Admittedly I'd prefer a VK50 to the VR38, and I don't care much for AWD, but that's not the issue. The issue is that making a 6 legged dog but changing the head, legs, and tail to cat parts doesn't leave you with a 6 legged dog. It leaves you with something really weird that no one wanted in the first place.

And as to luxobarge volume:There won't be any volume in the tiny neutered 4-door not-a-GTR-anymore department either.Q and M can and should coexist because they should be different sizes. G is for 3 series. M is for 5 series, A6 and CTS. Q is for STS, A8 and 7 series.

[Unnatural1]

To me, with this concept drawing, Infiniti is conjuring a Maserati Quattroporte. That is the kind of car that in my opinion can function as a top model. With the right finishing touches and a classy interior Infiniti may very well have a great flagship performance sedan on their hands. No one said this car was going to be a GT-R just share the platform.

[MinisterofDOOM]

No one said this car was going to be a GT-R just share the platform.

That's my whole point, though: the GTR platform was designed for a car with a very unique drivetrain that this car won't have. It is also small. Why even bother using the GTR platform? That's the grand point of everything I've posted here: why does the GTR even enter into this? Why not just make an Infiniti flagship? Why does it need to be based on a platform built for an ENTIRELY different purpose? How is that a good thing?

[Unnatural1]

It's a good platform because it will be less expensive to develop a car from an existing architecture than to build a new platform. It makes this car profitable and therefore possible. Also if you're goal is to have a sport luxury sedan why not start with the best handling chassis you have available. I really think they want a BMW fighter that can beat them at there own game.

[maxnix]

why does the GTR even enter into this?

Because the tooling needs to be amortized over a higher volume, and the magazine says a modification of the PM platform is the basis.

Also one needs to realize that AWD V8 has been produced for Nissan top sedans for over a decade.

I was looking at GTR review the other day and noticed F/R distribution with a rear transaxle still 56.6%/43.4%. A sedan would help out if it maintains the transaxle.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Also one needs to realize that AWD V8 has been produced for Nissan top sedans for over a decade.

That's just it, though: I highly doubt the GTR's AWD system would be used by the sedan. The VR38 isn't going into it. The GTR AWD system is EXTREMELY bulky compared to traditional systems, with TWO full-length drivelines and a large transaxle in the rear, where space is already very precious in IRS rear-drive sedans.

[maxnix]

And GTR is already a 3,900 lb. car dry!

A sedan with the same running gear would be at least 4,400 lb. which is LS and S class weight. A smaller car will not work at that weight.

[jltibbs]

Yeah, but beyond the G37S, there is no true performance sedan like the Germans, IS-F and CTS-V are. . .

Agreed, but to put something in that class, why not use the M series? Make a supercharged M45 to compete with those two and still put have the Q as more of a lux/power combo?

. . .If one needs more gadgets (self parking? ) than the optioned Y50, one is in bad shape or very very very bored.

I'm not saying add more gadgets, just sustain them. My 94 has more than I will ever use, but they are still nice. Self parking is a joke IMHO.

[maxnix]

I am with jtibbs, use the existing large car platform. Don't compete with it and cannabalize your own sales.