Alright, that’s not entirely true. There’s a veritable treasure trove of great cars exclusive to the Japanese and US markets that we don’t get, and I suppose some of them could be better than the G37. But let’s just roll with it. Infiniti—Nissan’s luxury arm in the US and once in Australia as well—have announced that as of late 2008, the Infiniti G37 will be available in all-wheel-drive spec. While it’d be easy to draw comparisons to the GT-R, I’d think of it more as an AWD up-market version of the 350Z.
Noticeably absent from the AWD G37—titled the G37x—is a manual transmission option. That fact, for most people, should be enough to see this car remain the province of midlife crisisers and out of the tuning circles. At least until peeps start transplanting the running gear from previous GT-Rs (or the brand new one, should you have the moolah). Nissan Australia, is there something about being in the Aussie market that you don’t like? Sort your hat out and give us the G37. Infiniti G37x Specifications, and photos of the existing G37, after the jump.
G37x AWD Coupe
Mechanical
• Intelligent All-Wheel Drive
• Electronically controlled 7-speed automatic transmission with Adaptive Shift Control and manual shift mode with Downshift Rev Matching
Exterior
• Scratch Shield paint Interior
• Dial-type seat heater switches Color and Trim
• Add Moonlight White (QAA)
• Delete Ivory Pearl (QX1)
• Washi-finish trim replaces aluminum trim for driver and passenger interior door pull handles (does not apply for vehicles with African rosewood interior trim)
Convenience
• Power door locks with automatic locking
GALLERY » infiniti-g37-coupe2
[via JPCNews.blogspot.com]
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I am a big fan of the Infiniti G series (aka the Nissan Skyline in the Japanese market). Its a proper grand tourer, and in the US market its seen as a very viable competitor to the BMW 3 Series in terms of handling and comfort (which is saying something).
This is the first time the coupe has been offered in AWD, and if its anything like prior iterations it’ll be adaptive. Also called ATTESSA, but not quite as good as the GT-R’s.
Nissan Australia, I know I say this a lot but please drop the rubbish Maxima and bring in the Skyline. Homologating the sedan as well as this coupe will improve your economies of scale, and we all know Aussies prefer cars that push rather than pull.
The problem is, Infiniti has no presence here and Nissan isn’t seen as a luxury brand. The name “Skyline” has a certain connotation here and it’s not “3-series competitor”. Unfortunately a car cannot sell on its merits alone. It’s all about customer perception…
That is true. There’s been rumblings of re-launching the Infiniti brand in Australia, but we’ll see how that goes. I think Infiniti would do well. Nissan is launching it in Europe, which are a lot more brand-snobby about cars than we are.
Think about it as a sporty IS250 competitor. If Lexus is trying to be Mercedes Benz, then Infiniti is trying to be BMW. Infiniti could sell a 3.0L version sedan as a base model and price it against the IS250, and range-top it with the 3.5L. Offer the coupe in 3.5L and 3.7L guises, and price it above the 350Z but below the 335i coupe.
If Nissan Australia was to drop the Maxima and add the Skyline to replace it, it could bring sports sedan enthusiasts to the brand that don’t buy into the local V8 offerings but can’t afford a Euro. I believe the car is bigger than the Liberty, Mazda6 and Camry so it could sit slightly above, and would differentiate it from those competitors by being RWD.
Not much point in offering the coupe is 3.5 and 3.7 versions.
The g35 sedan (which becomes the G37 sedan for 2009) is smaller than the Maxima, and wrong wheel drive.
There will be a hardtop convertable for 2009 as well
Infiniti will not return to Australia any time soon. Reintroduce a luxury brand in the middle of a credit crisis?? That’s just crazy. Although, I love the g37. I’d buy it any day