Isn't it strange how things turn out sometimes? In March 2011, one of our readers tipped us off on a 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe dressed up to look like a Nissan GT-R that she had found in Quebec, Canada.
A few months later, the group’s head-honcho, Carlos Ghosn, hinted an Infiniti version of the Godzilla, but he was neither here nor there.
“If you ask me, 'are we going to do that’, I would say ‘no, I don’t think so’”, said Ghosn. But then he added: “If your question is ‘could we do that’, I would say ‘yes’. All technologies developed for Nissan are available to Infiniti.”
Now, CAR Magazine is reporting that Nissan’s luxury arm is indeed considering building such a model. According to the British publication, Infiniti’s head of advanced planning Francois Bancon admitted that the company is currently looking at producing a “halo” model based on the GT-R's running gear.
“It’s too good a platform to use only on one model”, said Bancon referring to the GT-R’s 545HP 3.8-liter V6, its double-clutch gearbox and four-wheel drive system that makes it compete against supercars double its price.
Bancon added that a decision will be made in within next two or three years. “We have three or four proposals we are looking at right now. Once we have launched the new smaller Infiniti, the time would be right to have a flagship," Bancon was quoted as saying.
However, he stressed that it won’t be a simple rebadging process as an Infiniti has to be more refined and sophisticated than a Nissan.
“It would have to be softer than the GT-R, and that’s extremely difficult to do”, Bancon explained. “You can’t easily tweak the GT-R to deliver the sophisticated, more refined performance we would need on an Infiniti.”
8 Comments:
Hey, Infiniti, produce botch the GT-R based car, and a new Q flagship, no more crossovers.
I would'nt mind seeing a sedan version either to compete with the likes of the Porsche Panamera and the likes. THAT would be AWESOME!
never thought about it, but now that you say so, I like the idea very much!
A lot of work for Nissan to do, to make the an Infiniti version of the GTR not overlap or clash with the GTR.
I mean, what would be the point of the an Infiniti GTR if it has the same powertrain as the GTR but costs more, unless the Infiniti would have more power than the GTR?
Nissan may have run into the same problem GM has with the Corvette and Cadillac.
I wonder what a GT-R would look after Infinite went through the interior. Might be cool.
I see what you're saying, but it seems like there are different demographics for the ZR-1 vs. CTS-V. I'm guessing with the Infiniti halo car and GTR, the Panamera types would go for Infiniti, and hardcore folks for the GTR.
But I could be horribly wrong. That happens just as often.
Great ideas here...a long awaited Q flagship sedan, Panamera fighter and/or a powerful Essence/Emerg-e contender. Ghosn & his bean counters managed to put Nissan on a profitable path, now they need to turn the corner and utilize the innovative engines and platforms that exist. This GT-R based sedan has been in development for at least 8 years - let's go Infiniti. Looking fwd to seeing their upcoming 3 series competitor.
Not the ZR1 and the CTS-V, the ZR1 and the XLR-V.
The XLR-V shared the same platform as the Corvette, but the sheetmetal, interior, magneto-suspention, engine, and hardtop convertible bodystyle were only available on the XLR. Sitting next to each other, the XLR-V looked nothing like the Corvette, not on paper, not in performance numbers, not even in appearance.
The problem was that within GM, there is an unwritten rule that no car may be more powerful than the Corvette. The XLR, even in V-trim, had less HP than the Corvette and couldn't outperform tit either. The XLR-V also cost $100K+.
So there was the XLR-V, overpriced and underpowered in compairson to it's sister Corvette.
That's what I would worry about with an Infiniti GTR and the Nissan GTR. Unless the Infiniti model has can outperform the Nissan GTR, it won't be able to justify the difference in price that the Infiniti will most definately command.
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