Infiniti officially joined the hybrid race today. The company announced that it will sell a hybrid version of its upcoming M35 sedan starting in the spring of 2011.
The 2012 Infiniti M35 Hybrid will use a hybrid system developed in-house that combines a 3.5-liter V6 with a single electric motor. The electric motor will assist the gas engine under heavy load applications, but it will also be capable of propelling the car on its own in limited circumstances.
A newly developed lithium-ion battery pack will provide the power for the M35's motor. Infiniti says that it's physically the same size as current battery packs, yet produces twice the power. The pack is also laminated for improved cooling and utilizes manganese positive electrodes for improved long-term reliability. We'll have to take Infiniti's word on that for now.
rallyandbosox says:
01:12 AM, 10/ 8/09
A hybrid system that includes a 3.5L V6. How utterly worthless. Offer a 2.5L 4-cylinder instead of the hybrid and reap the same mileage if not better.
zoomzoomn says:
04:36 AM, 10/ 8/09
I like this new M. The hybrid option will be a nice touch. I hope that Nissan will expand it beyond the Infiniti brand. Putting it in their trucks would be nice!
One thing about the new M's styling, though. It has a bit of a Hyundai Azera thing going on through the rear quarter view.
zoomzoomn says:
04:37 AM, 10/ 8/09
rallyandbosox says:
01:12 AM, 10/ 8/09
Or you could use the V6 and get V8 performance at better than V6 gas mileage. ;)
94_gsr_cpe says:
05:08 AM, 10/ 8/09
I think this is a great step for Infiniti. The V6 hybrid setup is definately a good pairing. Love the direction they're going with the styling and if this car can get 30+ mpg in the city then its a winner.
wizard8873 says:
06:08 AM, 10/ 8/09
@rallyandbosox
It actually will help. Personally, I would rather have a diesel version but you have a hybrid GS and LS, so why should Infiniti join in to get some of the money?
hondacura4 says:
06:14 AM, 10/ 8/09
My father owns an 07 GS450h and although it takes some time to get used to the transmission the car gets very good gas mileage and offers V8 like performance.
lostandfound08 says:
07:10 AM, 10/ 8/09
We need to get over this idea that hybrids are most efficient with a smaller engine. Take the new Prius, for example: Toyota increased the size of the engine from Gen 2 to Gen 3. The point of gas-electric hybrids is not to run exclusively on electric power. The point of the electric assist is to allow the engine to run at it's most efficient operating state and the electric motors will make up for any gaps in power/torque. If you put a 4-cyl in this car, it may need to operate at some pretty high RPMs just to keep the car moving because the electric assist can't provide enough power. My guess is that Infiniti looked at both 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder applications, and the 6 cylinder setup was actually more efficient.
brn says:
07:38 AM, 10/ 8/09
Is this a partial hybrid like Nissan or is it the full deal like Ford and Toyota?
Lostandfound, Toyota put bigger electric motors in the Gen3. That might have something to do with it. I do agree that smaller not always equal better. That doesn't mean bigger is better. Perhaps Toyota was just "right sizing" when they put the bigger gas motor in.
rallyandbosox says:
08:46 AM, 10/ 8/09
If you want performance, go for the M45. This is the problem; we think hybrids ought to offer performance. Why? The purpose of the hybrid is to improve efficiency. The Lexus hybrids are worthless also. Why make a larger 5.0 V8 for the LS to pair the nickel hydride system to get 21mpg. If it's true that they did indeed find it more efficient than the 4.6, what about the development cost spent on the LS600h and the price premium of all things? Nissan claims that the lithium ion battery is twice as power as any previous application which means that depending on the size of it (I'd have to read the specs on the battery) that it is able to carry its own paired with the gasoline engine. Give me a diesel.
zoomzoomn says:
10:29 AM, 10/ 8/09
hondacura4 says:
06:14 AM, 10/ 8/09
"My father owns an 07 GS450h...gets very good gas mileage and offers V8 like performance."
Exactly.
banhugh says:
05:01 PM, 10/10/09
the hand-waving arguments in this conversation are always entertaining. Thank you everybody for telling Infinity how to run their business and engineering hybrid engine designs. I am sure you are all right and Infinity has a lot to learn from you all. Will somebody ban hugh?
banhugh says:
05:02 PM, 10/10/09
the hand-waving arguments in this conversation are always entertaining. Thank you everybody for telling Infinity how to run their business and engineering hybrid engine designs. I am sure you are all right and Infinity has a lot to learn from you all. Will somebody ban hugh?
DLu says:
11:21 AM, 10/12/09
as much as I'd like to be environmentally-friendly, I don't give a crap about a tiny savings in gas mileage with a hybrid; adding an electric motor to an already-great engine will add some power but hopefully really increase the RANGE which would be worth it.