[mr.smith]

Infiniti is considering making a four-door sports coupe as its flagship model as part of its bid to move upmarket. The sports coupe would be along the lines of the Porsche Panamera.

Andy Palmer, Nissan's executive vice president in charge of future products, told Automotive News that the four-door coupe is being considered as the falgship model. Making a sporty coupe as Infiniti's flagship model would help differentiate Infiniti from other luxury brands, which usually take a softer approach to their halo cars.

Palmer says that Infiniti "won't do a Merc S-Class or that type of car." The brand is obviously trying to carve out its own brand and image instead of copying the Germans at every turn. The flagship coupe could ride on a Benz sourced rear-wheel drive architecture though.

Production is planned to be ready somewhere in 2017 or 2018. The sports coupe would take its design cues from the Essence concept car.

 

[poor boy]

Mercedes S-class is not their Halo car. The SLS is, like the LFA is for Lexus, the GTR for Nissan, the Corvette for Chevy, the 918 for Porsche, the R8 for Audi....

see where this is going... LOL what happined to rumors of a GTR based infiniti, I would think thats about as halo as it gets....

 

[G2Q]

The rumors early on was a our door infiniti skyline whatever happened to that.

 

[cfrp]

what is a 4 door coupe?

 

[Tsunamarama]

I've heard rumors that it may share the Q100 name with the Red Bull F1 car. I am guessing when they say 4-door coupe they are referring to the more sloped roof line.

 

[poor boy]

WTF does a F1 car have to do with a sedan masquerading as a coupe... I would think the rumors of a GTR based Infiniti have much more in common with F1 than rubbish...

 

[iEssence]

what is a 4 door coupe?

In short, it's a sedan with coupe styling, car makers like BMW even go as far as calling it a coupe with no mention of "sedan", in BMW's case it's a "Gran Coupe"

 

[mr.smith]

I think that Infiniti should work on updating their current line-up of SUVs before they start adding new cars from scratch. i guess it is not a one or the other choice, i am just guessing that their SUVs would be far more profitable than a halo car. What would this halo car sell for? $120,000+? Not many people have that money. it won't move in large quantities. And if people did have that much money, there are other cars that would be very strong competitors.

 

[infinitifanatic]

I think that Infiniti should work on updating their current line-up of SUVs before they start adding new cars from scratch. i guess it is not a one or the other choice, i am just guessing that their SUVs would be far more profitable than a halo car. What would this halo car sell for? $120,000+? Not many people have that money. it won't move in large quantities. And if people did have that much money, there are other cars that would be very strong competitors.

they should be doing that but who knows whats really going on over at their R&D dept. It takes years to take a car from the drawing board to reality. Plus the GT-R has been out for a while, if the halo car is something GT-R based, chances are that gave them the push to focus on it before other vehicles. It took Lexus 5-10 years to develop the Lexus LFA.

 

[cfrp]

In short, it's a sedan with coupe styling, car makers like BMW even go as far as calling it a coupe with no mention of "sedan", in BMW's case it's a "Gran Coupe"

crazy manufacturers..

just call it a sports sedan.. geez

 

[infinitifanatic]

crazy manufacturers..

just call it a sports sedan.. geez

yeah it's funny but it does make sense, the overall design is coupe-like and they're trying to make it unlike the typical sports sedan from them and others.

 

[Tsunamarama]

Infiniti should focus on updating some of its older models before it puts out a brand new supercar IMO. I realize the company can do more than one thing at a time but as far as what its priorities should be. We need a new QX50 before we need a halo car.

 

[poor boy]

Halo cars aren't built for profitability. They are built for credibility. If you have a bonkers halo car people want to be part of that brand no matter what price point they get in the brand with. People buying Q60s, Q30s, Q12 and a halfs it doesn't matter. There vehicle is connected with the Halo by badge.. and that is worth more than any dollar figure.

 

[iEssence]

Halo cars aren't built for profitability. They are built for credibility. If you have a bonkers halo car people want to be part of that brand no matter what price point they get in the brand with. People buying Q60s, Q30s, Q12 and a halfs it doesn't matter. There vehicle is connected with the Halo by badge.. and that is worth more than any dollar figure.

Very true. Some car makers lose thousands even hundreds of thousands on each halo car they sell, it's the cost of building such a car, but it pays off in the long run

 

[mr.smith]

A halo car is basically the closest production vehicles get to concepts. All that talk of things being too expensive to make it to production doesn't happen with a halo car. So like a concept car the halo car is meant to build the brand, not really to make a profit. The halo car is meant to embody the brand in one car while the other cars in the line are made to be more practical and affordable.

What was Infiniti's last halo car? Is it being sold anymore?

 

[poor boy]

A halo car is basically the closest production vehicles get to concepts. All that talk of things being too expensive to make it to production doesn't happen with a halo car. So like a concept car the halo car is meant to build the brand, not really to make a profit. The halo car is meant to embody the brand in one car while the other cars in the line are made to be more practical and affordable.

What was Infiniti's last halo car? Is it being sold anymore?

no not really...

Corvette is GMs Halo

The GT was Fords

The GTR is Nissans

Its a reason to show people what the company would be doing if they were'nt building family sedans. Its where form follows function. Concepts are all form no function.... You want to see how effective Halo cars are, look at what happined to Honda/Acura while they haven't had one...

 

[cfrp]

well honda and acura still sell lots of cars. halo cars aren't usually purchased by many but they are the ICON of the brand.

When people hang up a poster of Nissans on the wall its most likely a GTR. Not a Versa. Its like a representative for Nissan to showcase what they can do .

 

[poor boy]

exactly cfrp, its a reason for people to be excited about the brand. They may drive a Versa but are connected to the GTR through badge. Its amazing how much better that makes people feel. The thing about Honda is they have lost their cult like following since NSX as killed.

P.S heres a new render of what Infiniti's new flag pole could look like.

 

[iEssence]

exactly cfrp, its a reason for people to be excited about the brand. They may drive a Versa but are connected to the GTR through badge. Its amazing how much better that makes people feel. The thing about Honda is they have lost their cult like following since NSX as killed.

P.S heres a new render of what Infiniti's new flag pole could look like.

On the plus side to Acura is they are bringing the NSX out soon and it holds some similar design cues as the rest of it's vehicle line up, even the ILX! So it will give that same effect as mentioned with Nissan models in the GT-R, Nissan and Infiniti just does it better

 

[cfrp]

its apparently a hybrid sports car.

so it could really be just a hybrid Q60.