By: David Booth
Updated: December 11, 2009
It’s definitely Japanese, but something tells me designers of Infiniti’s new M sedan spent a little time in Italy. Maybe even took in a little opera.
Certainly, they studied the curves that are so endemic to the classic Italian sports car. At the very least, they are big fans of Steve McQueen’s 1971 classic Le Mans.
Whatever their influence, there’s a sensuality to the new M’s curves not seen in any previous Infiniti sedan (though the FX sport-brute has a certain feline look to it). What’s also immediately obvious is that Infiniti definitely wants to rekindle the excitement that surrounded the launch of the last-generation M in 2005, which diminished as the car aged.
Like all Infinitis, the base 37 version sees an upgrade to the company’s new 3.7-litre V6, essentially the same engine powering various guises of the G37 and Nissan 370Z. In this form, it’s good for 330 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. Like the other variants of this engine, the M’s 3.7L uses the automaker’s Variable Valve Lift and Event (VVEL) variable valve timing system that, for all intents and purposes, eliminates the need for a throttle, benefiting fuel economy to the tune of about 5 per cent, says Nissan.
The big noise this year, however, sees a complete revamp of Infiniti’s 5.6L V8 workhorse. Not only does it get the VVEL treatment, it’s also treated to some new direct fuel-injection technology. By feeding the fuel directly into the combustion chamber rather than the intake manifiold, Infiniti has been able to raise the compression ratio to a whopping (for such a large motor) 11.5:1, increasing both power (up to 420 hp from 345) and fuel economy (by 10 per cent) compared with the 5.6L currently used in other Infinitis. It is also up 95 hp up on the outgoing M45, says Ian Forsyth, Nissan Canada’s director of corporate and product planning.
Also aiding fuel economy — and performance — is a new, paddle-shifted, seven-speed automatic that can be hooked to either rear- or all-wheel drive with both engine configurations. Also featuring heavily in the quest for better fuel economy is Infiniti’s EcoPedal system that monitors speed, acceleration, etc., and determines the best throttle setting for optimum fuel economy. Unlike other such economy-seeking systems, however, the EcoPedal pushes back against the driver’s foot, reminding him or her of his or her overly leaden driving.
Keeping all this power in check are some serious chassis upgrades as well as enough electronic gizmos for Infiniti to challenge Mercedes as the new king of auto-related acronyms. The Sport version of both Ms, for instance, gets new 20-inch wheels and sticky P245/40R20 radials for the ultimate in grip.
The same package also sees the M’s brakes upgraded to huge 14-inch discs up front (13.8 in. in the rear) and powerful four-piston calipers squeezing them. On RWD models only, the Sport package also includes Nissan’s 4-Wheel Active Steering (4WAS) that, depending on the vehicle speed, can steer the rear wheels in phase with the front tires.
All trim levels also benefit from new double-piston shock absorbers (that surprisingly escape acronymization) that offer different damping circuits for low- and high-speed damping. The low-speed circuit provides for firm damping over small bumps for optimum handling, while the high-speed version lessens the compression damping for greater comfort over large bumps.
As for harnessing all that power, besides the revised all-wheel-drive, electronic stability control and traction control systems, the Ms boast something Infiniti obliquely calls Active Tracing Control (one presumes because its pinpoint accurate steering allows the M to trace a perfect line through corners). According to Infiniti, ATC distributes both engine torque and braking force to each wheel individually, thus increasing steering precision.
Nor are all the new electronics limited to controlling the engines power; the Ms also offer a new, industry-first, camera-based system called Blind Spot Intervention (BSI) that aids the driver in returning the vehicle back toward the centre of the lane if it detects another vehicle in the blind spot area. Not one to miss an acronym, Infiniti includes a warning system for the same miscue called Blind Spot Warning or BSW. These systems work in conjunction with Infiniti’s Lane Departure Warning system (you guessed it, LDW) that alerts the driver whenever he or she is drifting into the next lane (without signalling, of course).
Not all of Infiniti’s newfangled technology is quite so logical, however.
The new M37 and 56, for instance, include a new technology branded Forest Air. A step above the normal air conditioning system, I’m not quite clear how the system works, but, according to Forsyth, it creates within the cabin a soft, gentle breeze of fresh air similar to what one might find in the middle of the forest on a perfect spring day. Among other things, the system includes a Plasmacluster Ion generator, a humidistat that keeps the cabin’s moisture content between 35 per cent and 55 per cent and a special grape polyphenol element that is claimed to filter out gasoline and farm odours.
There’s a whole bunch more new technology I could talk about in the newly revitalized M37 and M56, but, in all honesty, despite a two-hour private seance with Infiniti’s product planners, I still didn’t manage to catch it all. Suffice it to say there are many more wondrous gadgets inside the new Infinitis, all, of course, with their own acronyms. Quite how Infiniti’s salespeople will remember them all, or how they will convince prospective customers to sit still for an explanation of the long list of features, is a question I dared not ask.
What is apparent, however, is that with the Q45 no longer in Infiniti’s lineup, the M, and especially the much-reinvigorated M56, is now the flagship of the lineup.
– Canwest News Service
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