A super-saloon spin-off from the Nissan GT-R could soon be giving BMW’s M5 a run for its money round the Nurburgring.
Unconfirmed reports from Japan say Nissan engineers are actively evaluating a four door built on a stretched version of the GT-R platform, with a view to introducing a new flagship to the luxury Infiniti brand in 2011.
The new Infiniti saloon will feature all the chassis technology that has let the GT-R coupe show a clean pair of heels to Porsche around the Nurburgring recently (controversial!), but the high cost of the coupe’s 473bhp twin turbo V6 means it won’t be featured. Instead, latest reports say we should expect to see a retuned version of the 5.0L V8 engine currently powering the Infiniti FX50 ‘off-roader’ shoehorned under the bonnet of the ‘Infiniti GT-R’.
Sources suggest an output of around 420bp is on the cards, significantly down on the output of European super-saloon rivals. However, with the GT-R’s intelligent ATTESA-ETS AWD system and six-speed dual-clutch transaxle carried over, it will be interesting to see how the lack of outright muscle translates into track times – although Nissan insiders have apparently conceded that any Infiniti flagship will be tuned for luxury before ultimate performance.