LA Auto Show preview: Infiniti to launch 2012 M35 hybrid

Infiniti has announced that it will officially debut its first hybrid at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The M35 hybrid first appeared – badged as the Nissan Fuga hybrid – at last fall's Tokyo Motor Show and is propelled by Nissan's first in-house hybrid system. The M35 is powered by a retuned Atkinson cycle version of the 3.5-liter VQ V6 paired with a 50-kilowatt electric motor and a lithium ion battery pack that uses the same type of cells that power the Nissan Leaf.

The motor is a disc-type unit packed between the engine and the six-speed automatic transmission in a similar fashion to the systems from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Porsche. Infiniti claims the M35 will deliver V8 performance with the fuel consumption of a four cylinder. The Fuga goes on sale in Japan this fall and the M35 hybrid arrives in the U.S. market next year as a 2012 model.

[Source: Nissan]