Infiniti to build sport-luxury hybrid
Infiniti's first hybrid will be the 2012 M35.
(Credit: Infiniti)Nissan/Infiniti has so far only dabbled in hybrids, choosing to buy technology from Toyota for the Nissan Altima Hybrid. The company is really attempting to leap past that technology by going straight to electric vehicles, with the Nissan Leaf. But the upcoming Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid must have lit a fire under someone at Infiniti, because the company just announced the Infiniti M35 Hybrid.
The M35 Hybrid will use a mild hybrid system.
(Credit: Infiniti)With a V-6 engine mated to what sounds like a mild hybrid system, the car will be aimed more at performance than maximum fuel economy. Infiniti describes the hybrid system, which was built in-house, as combining twin clutches and an electric motor on the propeller shaft coming out of the engine. This arrangement allows the electric motor to provide extra boost to the rear wheels and, according to Infiniti, drive the car under only electric power under certain circumstances.
Honda says the same of its mild hybrid system, but we've never actually noticed pure electric drive power in any Honda hybrid. Infiniti is using the same laminated lithium ion batteries in the Infiniti Hybrid as will be used in the Nissan Leaf.
The Infiniti M35 Hybrid will come out in 2011 as a 2012 model.
Perhaps people learned from other's past mistakes and make it work in the future. Maybe progress actually can happen....but only for optimist instead of royal pessimist.
That said, the M35 is a great car. Its not necessarily all the hp or performance that makes it great. I love it for all the little things they paid attention to. Things that are easy to do but everyone seems to just skip it because its no big deal. Little things like the center armrest splits and slides for the driver/passenger separately. Extra power output, dedicated output for your ipod/mp3 players.
That said, my biggest gripe about the m35 is the horrible gas consumption. Any improvements would be a boost. Lets hope the 2013 and 2014 models will utilize the hybrid abilities more. I suspect this first version will just be ok in terms of hybrid abilities. But you have to start somewhere.
-proud G37 coupe owner. :D
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by HeavyJim
October 7, 2009 3:18 PM PDT
- by renGek October 7, 2009 12:36 PM PDT
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by antuan.goodwin
October 8, 2009 11:04 AM PDT
- Well, the M35 (the vehicle mentioned by renGek) was actually introduced in 2006. On the other hand the M37, M56, and M35 Hybrid are the next generation of Infiniti M vehicles that haven't been built yet, so I think there's a bit of confusion as to what model is being referred to.
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(7 Comments)By your analogy, apple should never release a tablet or a phone because the newton was such a failure.
Perhaps people learned from other's past mistakes and make it work in the future. Maybe progress actually can happen....but only for optimist instead of royal pessimist.
That said, the M35 is a great car. Its not necessarily all the hp or performance that makes it great. I love it for all the little things they paid attention to. Things that are easy to do but everyone seems to just skip it because its no big deal. Little things like the center armrest splits and slides for the driver/passenger separately. Extra power output, dedicated output for your ipod/mp3 players.
That said, my biggest gripe about the m35 is the horrible gas consumption.
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Wow, for a car thats not even built yet, or do you have the first exclusive model available to be able to make those judgements?
Comparing the current M35 to the upcoming M37 (on which the M35 Hybrid will be based) will be akin to comparing the old G35 to the current G37. They're two different generations that weren't built concurrently. You can see how without stating model years this can get confusing.