Friday 24th September 2010

Revealed: Infiniti's 'Driver's Hybrid'

New M35h offers punchy acceleration in a rear-drive package

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If you can track down an Infiniti dealer by springtime, you'll be able to go and look at their new M35h - a supposedly eco/environmentally conscious sporty rear-driver that the company is bullishly calling 'the driver's hybrid'.

A combination of 302hp from its 3.5-litre V6 and 68hp from an electric motor give the M35h sufficient muscle to make it the fastest accelerating car in Infiniti's European line-up. The newcomer will be shown-off at the Paris show next month, but some key performance details have been released in advance.

0-62mph comes up in 5.9secs, and top speed is limited to 155mph, while combined consumption comes in at a parsimonious 38.8mpg.

At the heart of the M35h is a front-engine, rear-drive-only mechanical layout based around an innovative drivetrain featuring a one motor/two clutch system, they tell us.

The first (dry) clutch is installed between the naturally-aspirated 3.5-litre V6 and the electric motor and facilitates full decoupling of the V6 when the car is in electric drive and power regeneration modes. Decoupling the V6 reduces mechanical losses and boosts efficiency of the electric motor.

The second (wet) clutch is sited on the other side of the electric motor. It is packaged within the automatic transmission where its function replaces that of a conventional torque converter, in effect turning the 7-speed gearbox into an automated manual - with a cut in fuel consumption of up to 10% over an equivalent model with conventional torque converter automatic.

All of which sounds great from a techy perspective, although considering the car is designed to take on the best of the Germans and Jaguar, we reckon it will need to get quite a long way on its style alone.

To that end the press release assures us the looks are 'seductive' and the cabin 'alluring'. They've cracked it then, surely?

[loudlashadjuster]

If by 'seductive' they mean 'awkward' and by 'alluring' they mean 'tacky' then yes, mission accomplished!

[mrclav]

loudlashadjuster said:

If by 'seductive' they mean 'awkward' and by 'alluring' they mean 'tacky' then yes, mission accomplished!

Maybe not a 'looker' from a European point of view but I promise you this thing will do extremely well in the US. One could say there's no accounting for taste... I'd just say that everyone likes different things. And I'm sure Infiniti don't give a monkeys what you think anyway!

[Wayne King]

PH said:

They've cracked it then, surely?

Not in the looks department they have not, looks truly terrible on the outside and from the inside, what were they thinking?

Technically, it sounds really good, but i couldn't forgive it for the way it makes me want to be a little sick when i look at it.

[randombloke]

is it just me, or do many designers ( especially the one at infinity ) now seem to be taking there inspiration from the Grand Theft Auto franchise?

When we are shown new releases I often have the feeling that I have already used one as transport to a bank job or for a drive by.

[Guvernator]

This kind of tech sounds very promising and I think msy be the way forward for us petrol heads if we are to keep enjoying our performance cars in the "green future". A nice big engine to keep things interesting when on a sprited drive but with a small electric motor to keep the fuel consumption down the other 90% of the time when you are just pottling around and also to keep the tree huggers happy.

Fully electric cars with batteries you need to charge are a dead end at the moment but this kind of hybrid tech is viable and doable now.

However it would be even better if that engine tech was put in a more exciting package, the looks of this thing are ghastly. Now put this in a nice swelte coupe and I would be more than interested.

[Ullevi]

The Crack Fox said:

Aaaargh ! Why do Infiniti (and Lexarse too for that matter) insist on putting bloody screens in the dash showing where the power goes and how it is generated ? Fancy graphics might impress Yanks and teenagers, but prospective buyers like me think this is tacky and distracting. I don't have a display in the BMW showing how the power is made and where is goes, and I manage rather well in that.

Edited by The Crack Fox on Friday 24th September 09:43

You drive a BMW hybrid?

I thought not.

That's the reason behind the graphics you deride.

I'm not much of a fan of this car or Infinity in general so far, but one thing I applaud is that at least it's a bit different from the boring hoardes of Teutonic uber-machines that populate are roads.

[loudlashadjuster]

mrclav said:

loudlashadjuster said:

If by 'seductive' they mean 'awkward' and by 'alluring' they mean 'tacky' then yes, mission accomplished!

Maybe not a 'looker' from a European point of view but I promise you this thing will do extremely well in the US. One could say there's no accounting for taste... I'd just say that everyone likes different things. And I'm sure Infiniti don't give a monkeys what you think anyway!

Yes, I know the US is their target market, but Infiniti claim to be making a serious push in the UK now and it is a stone-cold fact that cars that are designed primarily for the US market, particularily big saloons, will generally be niche/edge products here and suffer horrendous residuals due to their inherent lack of desirability.

The premium Japanese brands (Lexus & Inifinti) plus the sales of US-made luxury cars (Cadillac etc.) account for something like 0.3% of the market here, with the more European/Japanese sympathetic Lexus accounting for >90% of that. BMW alone have over 5% of the UK market.

From a business perspective I really wonder why Inifiniti bother just to sell a handful of cars per year, although I'm glad they do as it helps keep our roads from homogenisation thanks to a few brave souls!

Edited by loudlashadjuster on Friday 24th September 10:47

Edited by loudlashadjuster on Friday 24th September 10:48

[annodomini2]

that is all

[robert_raw]

I think that is a really nice looking car!

[Johnpidge]

Guvernator said:

This kind of tech sounds very promising and I think msy be the way forward for us petrol heads if we are to keep enjoying our performance cars in the "green future". A nice big engine to keep things interesting when on a sprited drive but with a small electric motor to keep the fuel consumption down the other 90% of the time when you are just pottling around and also to keep the tree huggers happy.

Fully electric cars with batteries you need to charge are a dead end at the moment but this kind of hybrid tech is viable and doable now.

However it would be even better if that engine tech was put in a more exciting package, the looks of this thing are ghastly. Now put this in a nice swelte coupe and I would be more than interested.

+1 couldn't have said it better myself!

[mrclav]

loudlashadjuster said:

mrclav said:

loudlashadjuster said:

If by 'seductive' they mean 'awkward' and by 'alluring' they mean 'tacky' then yes, mission accomplished!

Maybe not a 'looker' from a European point of view but I promise you this thing will do extremely well in the US. One could say there's no accounting for taste... I'd just say that everyone likes different things. And I'm sure Infiniti don't give a monkeys what you think anyway!

From a business perspective I really wonder why Inifiniti bother just to sell a handful of cars per year, although I'm glad they do as it helps keep our roads from homogenisation thanks to a few brave souls!

I agree, from a business point of view it doesn't really make sense to me either but we should at least thankful we have the choice. I also think it probably costs less for them to sell the cars "as is" with a small dealer network then it would be to significantly re-body them just for our tastes. Having driven one (not this hybrid obviously) as a hire car I must say they are turbine smooth and very well screwed together; kinda like a new-school W124 Merc in fact.

[predding]

After seeing this, it will be hard to call an Audi or BMW ugly ever again...

[forzaminardi]

Seductive and alluring if you like porky-looking birds then yeah, OK.

[Blue Meanie]

Nicer looking in person than in that particular photo...

[ptopman]

Weird, to me the design is bland rather than awkward or actually ugly. None of the current Audis are ugly either, they are instead boring because they all look the same - that's got nothing to do with ugliness.

[pilchardthecat]

So is the massive battery right over on the off side of the car, or is it at head height in the passenger compartment?

[Mr Gear]

I don't know much about this car, but is the V6 any relation to the V6 in the R35 GTR? If so, this could be the prequel to the rumoured GTR hybrid....

Edited by Mr Gear on Friday 24th September 15:20

[Blue Meanie]

Mr Gear said:

I don't know much about this car, but is the V^ any relation to the V6 in the R35 GTR? If so, this could be the prequel to the rumoured GTR hybrid....

Infiniti had a 'version' of the GTR in the offing. A 4 door version...

http://www.leftlanenews.com/photos/infiniti-gt-r-s...

[Mr Gear]

Blue Meanie said:

Mr Gear said:

I don't know much about this car, but is the V^ any relation to the V6 in the R35 GTR? If so, this could be the prequel to the rumoured GTR hybrid....

Infiniti had a 'version' of the GTR in the offing. A 4 door version...

http://www.leftlanenews.com/photos/infiniti-gt-r-s...

The plot thickens! That link shows a rather pleasant-looking 4-door coupé (hatchback?). If there is indeed a direct link between the three cars, then I predict a hybrid GTR in the near future.

[Blue Meanie]

Mr Gear said:

Blue Meanie said:

Mr Gear said:

I don't know much about this car, but is the V^ any relation to the V6 in the R35 GTR? If so, this could be the prequel to the rumoured GTR hybrid....

Infiniti had a 'version' of the GTR in the offing. A 4 door version...

http://www.leftlanenews.com/photos/infiniti-gt-r-s...

The plot thickens! That link shows a rather pleasant-looking 4-door coupé (hatchback?). If there is indeed a direct link between the three cars, then I predict a hybrid GTR in the near future.

And yes, the 3.7 V6 is a close relation to the engine in the GT-R, as is the 3.7 in the 370Z. The addition of Turbochargers, etc, is the difference, I believe. It is a highly 'tuned' version of the VQ family engine. As far as I am aware, the Infiniti GT-R idea was scrapped, BUT, it did look very nice indeed.