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GT-R-powered Infiniti flagship officially canned
Any hope of a Nissan GT-R-powered flagship from Infiniti have been officially dashed. According to Brian Carolin, Nissan's Senior Veep of Sales and Marketing, "It's fair to say that there's nothing in the product plan for a flagship right now. It's just not a priority in today's climate."
Rumors of a new sedan packing the GT-R's twin-turbocharged V6 and all-wheel drive system have been circulating for over a year, and when the Infiniti Essence concept debuted at the Geneva Motor Show this year, speculation began anew. The initial thought was Infiniti would bring a flagship coupe to market in favor of a sedan, but now, both plans have been shelved due to the current economic crisis and the subsequent downward spiral of luxury vehicle sales.
Carolin told Inside Line that dealers would have fallen all over each other for a new flagship last year, but "now it's way down on their wish list."
[Source: InsideLine | Image: Holiday Auto]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
RLQ 7:51PM (4/08/2009)
I thought it was a lame idea anyways.
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the_MVP_X 7:47PM (4/08/2009)
It will be back until Monday, I hope.
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LimeDaiquiri 7:50PM (4/08/2009)
This was never going to happen anyways.
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J Who 9:55AM (4/09/2009)
Yeah, I know right! Anyone thinking that this would even see the light of day in our current economic climate is a fool.
Besides, I thought they already said this was a "no-go" a while back...
Kool, Could be due for NA 7:58PM (4/08/2009)
No fear: we have the Porsche Panamera starting at around $80k, which was supposedly the target price of the GT-R based Infiniti flagship. Come to think of it, the cancellation might not just be due to the current climate...
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Sal Collaziano 8:06PM (4/08/2009)
Was this supposed to be that new "Q45" successor we've been hearing about? If so, than I guess that's cancelled now?
Sal Collaziano
http://www.infinitiforum.net/
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Not Detroit 10:27PM (4/08/2009)
The last Q45 was known as the Nissan Cima in Japan, and the Cima's competitor from Toyota is the Crown Majesta, which just got a complete re-do and was made officially for sale March 29. It wouldn't be like Nissan not to offer a all-new Cima to keep up with the Crown Majesta, even if it isn't a GT-R luxo sedan. The current Cima is 8 years old. Therre has to be a new Cima being worked on.
Sal Collaziano 8:21AM (4/10/2009)
Very interesting. I'm surprised we don't have this selling here.. It looks great to me...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/F50cima.jpg
Franz 8:42PM (4/08/2009)
Expected. Would have been nice, but not really feasible. Infiniti needs to stick the V8 from the FX50 in the new M, give it some slightly more aggressive cams and call it a day.
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Mobius_1 8:43PM (4/08/2009)
Good.
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Level 8:43PM (4/08/2009)
Infiniti needs a flagship to appeal to the S/7/LS/A8 - class it just doesnt have anything to upgrade to...
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Lee 9:25PM (4/08/2009)
Understandable. Depressing, but understandable.
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Nick 11:07PM (4/08/2009)
Infinity/Nissan cars are getting nicer and nicer, which can't be said of Acura's.
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Forrest 2:24AM (4/09/2009)
Infiniti WILL need a flagship, when things are all said and done, if it really wants to compete with the larger luxury makers. They might as well go ahead and design a Q replacement, so that when the economy turns around, they can go ahead and release it.
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Jei 8:42AM (4/09/2009)
Awwww mannnn!
I was planning to save for my next Infiniti. This sucks. Maybe Nissan will modify the Maxima plaform for AWD, V8 engine(s), hybrid powertrain, and slick exterior design. Now that would be exciting.
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BoxerFanatic 10:46AM (4/09/2009)
How is this a surprise?
Every time it is on, it is a rumor, every time it is off, it is a press release...
BTW, if it mentiones GT-R-Powered... does that mean that the Infiniti flagship won't use that engine, or that the flagship won't exist at all?
Nissan doesn't seem that eager to amortize the 3.8 TT specialized engine....
But is this a skirt around the issue, if the Infiniti flagship comes with a variant of the FX50's drivetrain.... With the 5.0 VVEL V8, and center mounted transmission, rather than TT-V6 and rear transaxle...
personally, I have no idea why the M hasn't received the G37x and FX50 drivetrains already, making the M37x and M50x full size sedans... What really more does it need, or what would a new Q have above that? Just an inflated price for ego competition's sake?
All the M really needs otherwise, is maybe a new quarter-window treatment, (the sharp kink is a little severe, and the odd tail lights revised. The front end, and the general profile look pretty good for a full size sedan.
The only other thing Infiniti needs is a special edition G-series coupe and sedan with the VK50 VVEL V8 engine under the hood, with a 6-speed stick, to prod the S-grade Audis A4/5 and the ///M BMW 3-series.
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