Infiniti IPL G coupe The first step toward a higher-performance image. NAPA, CALIFORNIA
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NFINITI’S CURRENT ADVERTISING SPOTS
begin with a Shodo brushstroke of a car silhouette, the designer’s first representation of how a new car will look. With IPL—the Infiniti Performance Line—the brand puts figurative pen to paper and begins to sketch out a new performance sub-brand. All of Infiniti’s major rivals already have one: M at BMW, AMG at Mercedes-Benz, S and RS at Audi, the V-series at Cadillac, and the nascent F models at Lexus. Given its comparatively humble global sales footprint, however, Infiniti is starting small—as a package, the IPL G coupe is a considerably more modest effort than any of those specialty The Specs // machines. ON SALE: December The IPL debuts as a single model PRICE: $48,825/$50,725 based on the two-door G37 Sport (manual/automatic) 6MT. The IPL treatment starts in the ENGINE: 3.7L V-6, 348 hp, engine room, where engineers were 276 lb-ft DRIVE: Rear-wheel able to coax a bit more out of the already high-achieving 3.7-liter V-6. Horsepower increases from 330 at 7000 rpm to t 348 att 7400 rpm, while torque is bumped up to 276 lb-ft from 270. A less restrictive exhaust system is fitted, which Infiniti claims makes the engine rev more freely at high rpm. Buyers choose a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic with shift paddles. Given generous throttle application, the 3.7-liter roars to life, flinging the coupe down the road. Despite the retuned exhaust, this isn’t the most mellifluous V-6, but it’s hardly offensive. The six-speed manual transmission has short throws and a
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satisfying mechanical heft that’s matched by the effort of the clutch, and the seven-speed automatic operates with flawless logic. The suspension is stiffened by twenty percent up front and ten percent at the rear compared with the base car. The brakes— 14.0-inch vented front discs squeezed by four-piston aluminum calipers and 13.8-inch vented rear discs with two-piston aluminum calipers—are from the sport package, as is the limited-slip differential. The wide, summer tires (Bridgestone Potenzas, size 225/45WR-19 up front, 245/40WR-19 at the rear) provide plenty of grip, and the firm suspension shrugs off the most tightly coiled canyon roads yet still takes the edge off sharp bumps. The quicker-ratio steering—again from the sport package—is pleasantly weighted, and the deep bucket seats, with adjustable lateral
Automobile | December 2010
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GUY SPANGENBERG
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