What I'm getting at is...one measure of a car's success is it's sales numbers...you never measure success by it's hp. I think Infiniti should focus on what's wrong with the car to help sales not beef up the already impressive hp to the point of overkill. The number 1 selling luxury car is the BMW 3-series (a RWD car by the way) and guess what...it's hp numbers are on the bottom of the list. Like I always say...there's more to a car than performance...I think it's something Infiniti will have to learn if they are going to make it in this market. My

 

Sure you say that now, but study Nissan history and you'd be dead wrong. They once took your advice and did everything they could to emulate Toyota and Honda. Improve interior, plush rides, more conservative designs...etc. Didn't work and they almost plunged into bankruptcy. Enter Carlos Ghosn...."we will have the highest standard horsepower in every class..." guess what, he did a $9 BILLION turnaround in a span of 3 years. He catered to the enthusiast and gave them horsepower till it hurt. He keeps Nissan owners happy by increasing the horespower year after year after year. It works. The G35 is a sales PHENOMENON for Nissan. Infinitii has NEVER had such a successful product. The G has single handedly turned Infiniti into a profitable division.

BTW, the G outsold the previous version of the TL at around 70-80 thousand units per year. Now that its 3 years old, the TL has released the new model and the G sales go down...not that surprising. New models always do well the first year.

 

I dont think this HP is "overkill". It's just fine where it is.

 

100%

 

The Z should still be faster, but only slightly now. Someone on the 350z message board put up these calculations:

GC Leather 6MT - 298hp - 3435lbs - 0.0867hp/lb - 11.52lbs/hp
GS Leather 6MT - 298hp - 3398lbs - 0.0876hp/lb - 11.40lbs/hp
Z Track 6MT - 287hp - 3225lbs - 0.0889hp/lb - 11.23lbs/hp
Z Touring 6MT - 287hp - 3247lbs - 0.0883hp/lb - 11.31lbs/hp
Z Base 6MT - 287hp - 3188lbs - 0.0900hp/lb - 11.10lbs/hp

 

Nice calcs. Though I am surprised by the fact that the sedan has a lower lbs/hp ratio. The coupe should be faster, no?

 

The Coupe is pretty heavy for what it is. The 6-speed sedan with the 260hp engine was running pretty close to the Coupe's with 20 extra hp. The Sedan should not have an advantage with the same hp stock. The only real downside of the Sedan IMO is the styling, but other than that, it's a great car for the $$

 

*what i wrote below is what i read on 350zforum and g35forums.*

1. why 298HP instead of 300HP? 300HP is like a line between super sports cars and regular cars. A car with 300 HP will mostly cost more to insure than a car with 298 HP. so 298 is to cut down insurance cost.

2. Why 05 G has more HP than 05 Z?
298 and 287 is like 10 HP difference... AT THE CRANK.. that s like 2 WHP... who would acutally feel 2 WHP difference...
Skyline has always been the icon of Nissan and Nissan just made their icon G35/skyline have more HP than their FAMOUS Z
also rumor says 05.5 Nissan will introduce a 35th Anniversary Edition for the 350Z and that is when the 05Z will have a HP bump.

 

Source:vwvortex

 

looks alot better

 

4.1 liter 330 PS V6 engine! Now that's an interesting spec-ed engine.

 

41 kgm of torque at 4800 = 297 lb/ft


This engine, if true, is now par with the Posche 911. Coincidence? I dont think so.

 

Kgm and Lbs-Ft and Newtonmeters ... Can't we all just get along?

 

Sick engine.

rear end screams Hyundai

 

Whoa those be some impressive hp/tq numbers.

 

Very impressive looking and impressive engine specs...

I just have some concerns with the smoothness of the VQ at that displacement. My parents have a creamy-smooth 3.0L VQ in their Maxima. The 3.5L in my Z is strong, but pretty rough higher up in the rev-range. Even in the G35.

I'm sure they can do it, but many V6 engines at that displacement are somewhat rough

 

Kgm is very popular in Europe and Japan.

 

I am guessing that the main reason your engine does not feel as smooth is mostly due to all the measures an engine designer takes to smoothen the engine externally. Meaning, special hydraulic mounts, frame and sub-frame issues, etc.

 

Note that PS is slightly higher than our bhp measurement. I am guessing 330 PS is about 320 HP SAE NET.

 

It's a consistent complaint I've heard against the 3.5L VQ regardless of car it's in. "It sounds and feels like a truck motor near the redline" etc... Nissan engineers tried all of the tricks to smooth it out, but the fact remains it's just not as smooth as the 3.0L VQ. By increasing the displacement to get more power, they changed the charasteristics of the engine. It's more similar to a domestic V8 or large displacement pushrod v6 i.e. a large flat torque curve, but it doesn't rev high (6500 redline) and gets thrashy near the redline.

The 3.0L Maxima would rev to 7000rpm and felt like it kept pulling when approaching the redline (similar to the J32) while the 3.5L VQ power significantly levels off past 6000rpm.

I do love the torque and power of the new VQ though. It's still an outstanding engine, I just think that a v6 of a displacement over 4L will be thrashy.

 

anyone else think the side shot looks a lot like the current gen maxima? guess it makes sense cuz of nissan/infiniti. they tryin to make the sedan a luxury version of the maxima?

 

Looks like a ps'ed altima.

 

wow, lets all copy Mercedes and Pontiac......

 

Looks good to me and like a Nissan. With the I35 gone, look for the next G35 to have more luxury.

 

This is clearly a sketch that took design clues from the new Infiniti M car. I do see some G6 in the rear but overall this is a really nice design especially from the front. I cant even imagine how sporty the two door will look like, based upon this CGI.

 

looks like they took the coupe body and added 2 doors

 

call me stupid but in japan skylines are G35s down there?
Nissan & Infiniti are same like Toyota is to Lexus?

 

What if those were pics of the new IS and they just touched up the grill and tails?

 

That sedan looks 10X better than the current sedan, major props. Those improvements definitely wont make it any cheaper though.

 

Yes. THe G35 is called the Skyline in Japan and Europe.

 

seems like they can't get the rear right....better than the old on tho, but still blah

 

 

front looks like a maxima?

 

Yep. I hope they don't skimp on the interior and make the same mistakes twice. I'd be nice if the new interior impresses me as much as the new M's (without copying it). I like the M-ish front; the way the hood lines flow past the grill and into the lower fascia is very similar to the next gen 3-Series. The character line rising steeply from the front wheel well, as found on the M, gives it a nice coupe-ish profile. The rear lights need to be cleaned up a bit.. but all in all it's a major improvement. It's about time the put turning signals in the outside mirrors; I hope that makes it to U.S. production. The engine specs are awesome. Nissan finally has a 6AT... it's about time. They'll need one be competitive in the U.S. luxury market.

 

I wonder when this Skyline would debut in the U.S. (assuming the info's true). The current G just got a refresh for '05.

 

Can't wait for this car to come out. If it ever does.

 

old skyline = million times better

 

______________


u mean the old GTR? and the new one is not even out yet... how do u know it s not gonna be better?

 

Yeah; the GTR's a different car from the sedan. I think the current Skyline (G35) doesn't look as nice as the sketch shown in this thread. I can't wait for the next GTR.

 

Better in what sense? The only good thing about the former skyline is the bulletproof engine and the way it looks. Otherwise, stock for stock performance, the g35 isnt even far behind a GT-R. A g35 can kill a skyline gt-s thats for sure. My friend just got his r33 GT-r, and his brother in a g35 sedan beat him by a car... It could just be that my friend doesnt know how to launch a 4wd car yet but still...