A future version of Infiniti G IPL could deliver as much as 530 horsepower.
The already torrid relationship between Daimler AG and the Renault-Nissan Alliance continues to heat up. Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz brand is now expected to provide the underpinnings for the Euro-Asian alliance’s next-generation Infiniti G cars.
According to new reports, Infiniti will share the same platform as the next-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The new model will be slightly larger than the current Infiniti G, and will be offered with more body and powertrain variations.
That is expected to include a coupe and a sedan, while powertrain options are likely to offer buyers a hybrid, possibly a diesel, and even a 530-horsepower V-6, according to a report in Motor Trend magazine quoting Japanese sources.
Mercedes will provide the premium compact platform for the vehicle Infiniti will base on its Etherea concept.
The G line has been critical to Infiniti, a brand that languished in the luxury cellar but is aiming to emerge as a global first-tier player. One of the challenges has been to come up with the range of products luxury buyers now expect, with top-tier manufacturers such as Mercedes offering a virtual alphabet soup of alphanumeric models.
The C-Class was an equally important product to Mercedes when it launched a quarter century ago. While it might not have the panache of an S-Class it has become one of the brand’s big sellers and that is expected to become even more the case as global luxury buyers continue downsizing.
For Infiniti, however, the next-gen G is expected to grow a few inches longer and adopt an even more muscular appearance. The new design will be influenced by the Etherea concept and borrow the crescent C-pillar now being melded into the rest of the Infiniti line-up, including the all-new JX 3-row crossover.
The sedan is supposed to adopt a lower, more coupe-like silhouette. A taller crossover is reportedly being developed. And a new coupe will follow, likely a year after the sedan.
A range of powertrains will be in the offing, including variants of the current 4-cylinder powertrain. But Infiniti is also said to be looking at a new hybrid – which would use an all-new gas-electric driveline developed in-house – as well as a high-mileage diesel.
One of the more intriguing options is said to be the “Super G,” which would go with a twin-turbo, direct-injection 3.7-liter V-6 making as much as 530 hp. It would almost certainly be badged IPL – for Infiniti Performance Line – the Japanese maker’s answer to Mercedes’ AMG.
The use of the C-Class platform for Infiniti’s G-Car is no surprise. It was one of many things Daimler and Renault-Nissan were planning to work on as part of the partnership they first announced in 2010 – and which they have been rapidly expanding.
They have now agreed that Nissan will provide engines produced in Decherd, Tennessee for the C-Class when that German model begins production at the Mercedes plant in Alabama in 2014.
Meanwhile, Mercedes will also provide a version of an even smaller platform, dubbed the MFA, for the production version of the Etherea.
Mercedes itself has been struggling to better position itself in the emerging market for downsized luxury offerings and developed the new MFA platform to help improve the appeal of its original A- and B-Class also-rans. The first production version of the A-Class was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last month. Meanwhile, it plans to introduce a new, downsized version of its popular CLS “coupe-like-sedan”, with a concept version, the CSC, debuting in Beijing next week. The production model, to be dubbed CLA, will follow later this year. (Click Here for that report.)
A significant numbers of details about the next-gen G remains to be seen, including production plans. Nissan earlier this year revealed it will add a massive new assembly complex in Aguas Calientes, Mexico. Meanwhile, Mercedes is looking for a site for a second North American plant and, as TheDetroitBureau.com reported, it is strongly considering a site adjacent to the new Nissan facility.
It is quite possible, sources report, that the Nissan and Mercedes plants in Aguas Calientes could wind up sharing production duties for some of their key future luxury models.