World Cars Motor Show

Sharing some underpinnings with the Nissan 350Z, the handsomely styled coup?© is designed to appeal to a different buyer than the standard G37 saloon. Although it shares the same 2850mm wheelbase - which ensures its rear seats are more than just occasional perches - the Coup?© is more than 100mm shorter than the Saloon to give it genuine coup?© proportions and does not share a single body panel.

A long bonnet, short overhangs and dramatically raked roof line give the G37 Coup?© elegant and sophisticated proportions allied to an expressive, curving shoulder-line.

Infiniti’s latest 3.7-litre V6 - from the VQ family of petrol engines - was given its debut in the G37 Coup?© and now powers the Saloon, too. A potent, high revving engine, the 24-valve twin cam V6 produces over 310PS and over 350Nm of torque. It also permits sustained use at higher revs: the V6 is red-lined at 7,500rpm.

Drive is taken to the wheels via a six-speed manual or an advanced seven-speed automatic transmission. The suspension layout features double wishbones at the front and a multi-link rear. To ensure it can handle the higher speeds in Europe, a dedicated team of Infiniti engineers working out of Nissan’s Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) have fine tuned the suspension, steering, brakes and aerodynamics to suit the conditions.

Four-Wheel Active Steer (4WAS) is available as part of the Sport Model. This helps improve handling performance still further by varying the front steering ratio and adjusting the geometry of the rear suspension according to steering input and vehicle speed. All versions of G37 Coup?© come with Electronic Stability Program (ESP), while a Viscous Limited Slip Differential (VLSD) is included as part of the Sport package.

Standard features include the I-key with smart access that incorporates personalised memory functions on the key fob. A six-disc, seven-speaker audio system, Bluetooth phone connectivity and cruise control can all be operated via switches on the leather trimmed steering wheel.

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Infiniti knew it had something good in its first-generation G35. When it was launched for the 2003 model year, the unknown rear-wheel-drive G35 sedan was certainly good enough to take on the best in the hyper-competitive, sedan-dominated near-lux segment all by itself. However, Infiniti took advantage of the G35??™s prolific FM-platform and designed the perfect complement to its volume sedan: the saucy G35 coupe. Wrapping the G35??™s mechanical goodness and interior architecture in a striking body with sports-car proportions, the G35 coupe was delicious, even if never intended to sell in big numbers.

However, to Infiniti??™s credit, the G35 coupe was endowed with a character all its own. Dignified yet edgy, the G35 coupe effectively split the difference between the G35 sedan and another famous FM platformmate, the Nissan 350Z sports car. Sending at least 280 horsepower from Nissan??™s ubiquitous VQ 3.5-liter V-6 engine to the rear wheels via manual or automatic transmissions, the G35 coupe has been sexy, satisfying, and aspirational from the moment it was launched.

Enter its replacement: the 2008 Infiniti G37 coupe, due in showrooms this August. To fill the G35’s big shoes, Infiniti has packed in more technology, more power, and??”just look at it??”even more sex appeal.

It all starts with the name. As the ???37??? suggests, the 3.5-liter VQ V-6 has been bumped up in displacement to 3.7 liters. And although ???gee thirty-seven??? doesn??™t roll off the tongue with quite the same tidy elegance as G35, the results justify the extra syllable: horsepower has jumped from 293 (SAE certified) to an estimated 330, enough to have BMW a little worried, especially considering that Infiniti didn??™t resort to blowers to achieve such results. The torque curve of the new 3.7 is flatter, and the peak of 270 pound-feet is 12 higher. Like the enhanced 3.5-liter VQ V-6 in the ‘07 350Z, which, incidentally, produces only 306 horsepower, the G37 coupe??™s new powerplant is almost completely new and, like the Z??™s new engine, adopts yet another acronym-gone-wild name: VQ37VHR VVEL, the latter four characters standing for Variable Valve Event and Lift. That’s the important bit, as this is Nissan’s first application of this technology that, similar to BMW’s Valvetronic, controls engine breathing more efficiently by altering valve lift and timing without the use of a traditional throttle plate.

Once again, manual and automatic transmissions will be offered, and numerous chassis enhancements were made in the hope of raising handling and braking capabilities to the top of the class. Available technologies include active four-wheel steering??”a technology that comes and goes about once a decade??”which we look forward to testing. We??™ll see if it sticks this time around.

So the G coupe is more of a bad boy under the skin but has nonetheless come dressed for success. The G37??™s sexy new duds are at once more sensuous and more aggressive than the outgoing G35 coupe’s, but like its predecessor, it is neither over-the-top macho nor the least bit feminine. Interior changes are also thorough, following in the footsteps of the sedan but using unique materials to set it apart from the four-door (?  la BMW 3-series coupe). Electronic goodies include a touch-screen navigation system with XM NavTraffic real-time traffic monitoring, a 9.3-gigabyte Music Box hard drive, a rearview monitor, and an 11-speaker Bose audio system with next-generation sound processing. Don??™t expect much more headroom in the back seat, though, because it still ain??™t there.

Clearly, the G37 coupe has moved out of its support role and is now even more distinct from the sedan??”a major difference to the approach BMW took with its new 3-series coupe. With the G’s aggressive visual presence and strengthened powertrain, it is truly unique and much more of a real sports car than ever. Just how close it will get to outsporting the company??™s perennial sports car (now that the Z gives up 20-odd horsepower to the G) is something we??™ll have to find out once we get our hands on an ??™08 G37 coupe for a thorough road test.

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