Infiniti's GT-R Powered Q50 Eau Rouge Enters Prototype Testing Phase

Under the leadership of Carlos Ghosn, the Nissan Group has shown that it's not afraid to break with conventional wisdom and create products that can raise more than a few eyebrows – i.e. the GT-R Juke.

Meet the Cars With a Five-Star Rating in EuroNCAP's Latest Tests [w/Videos]

We’ve seen the cars that achieved a four-star rating, now it’s time to meet the best performers of EuroNCAP’s latest crash-test session. Six cars were awarded the maximum five-star rating: Ford Tourneo Connect, Infiniti Q50, Maserati Ghibli, Mazda3, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Peugeot 308.

Both luxury cars tested, the Infiniti Q50 and Maserati Ghibli, offered good overall protection. The Infiniti scored 86 percent for adult occupants, 85 percent for child occupants and 67 percent for pedestrians. The Japanese model also received an 81-percent rating for safety assist.

Just tested by the IIHS, the Ghibli was awarded the highest score (95 percent) for adult occupant protection of the 11 cars assessed by EuroNCAP. Child occupant protection was rated at 79 percent, pedestrian protection at 74 percent and safety assist at 81 percent.

EuroNCAP gave good ratings to both compact cars tested, the Mazda3 and Peugeot 308. The Japanese car scored 93 percent for adult occupant protection; 86 percent for child occupant, 65 percent for pedestrian and 81 percent for its safety assist systems. The Peugeot got a 92 percent rating for protection offered to adult occupants, 79 percent for child occupants, 64 for pedestrians and 81 percent for safety assist.

The Ford Tourneo Connect passenger van was equally impressive, with a 94 percent rating for adult occupant protection, 85 percent for child occupant protection, 62 percent for pedestrians and 70 percent for safety assist.

Finally, EuroNCAP also awarded five stars to the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which was rated 88 percent for adult occupant protection, 84 percent for child occupant, 64 percent for pedestrian and 81 percent for safety assist.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Infiniti Q50 Gets New Mercedes-Sourced 211HP 2.0L Turbo Engine at the Guangzhou Motor Show

Infiniti has unveiled a new four-cylinder engine for the Q50 sports sedan at the Guangzhou Motor Show in China. The new turbocharged unit will be on sale in China from spring 2014, with other global markets to follow.

The result of Infiniti’s partnership with Daimler, the 2.0-liter unit will add to the Q50’s current powertrain options – a 3.7-liter gasoline engine, a 3.5-liter hybrid and a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel. On sale in Europe this autumn, the latter is also a fruit of the company’s collaboration with Daimler.

The Euro5-compliant 2.0-liter turbocharged engine features direct injection with precise Piezo injections and produces 211hp (214PS) and 236 lb-ft (320 Nm) of torque from as low as 1,250 rpm. As with the 2.2-liter diesel, the gasoline engine has been modified by the Infiniti engineering teams to ensure engine response is in line with Infiniti’s brand characteristics.

Infiniti hasn’t offered fuel economy or performance specs of the Q50 with the new engine.

The unit is part of the company’s strategy to expand its product offerings and to adapt its model range to local customer requirements. Over the next five years, Infiniti plans to increase its model lineup by 60 percent and more than double the number of its powertrains.

Infiniti also announced that next year it will begin production of long-wheelbase Q50 and QX50 models at the Xiangyang plant in Hubei Province, China.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Say Again? New Nissan Skyline Wears Infiniti Emblems, But Remains a Nissan in Japan

The usually well-informed on local business matters Japanese business daily Nikkei, reported last month that Nissan would launch the Infiniti brand in the country with the Q50, the predecessors of which, were sold as the Nissan Skyline, leaving questions about the fate of the latter.

It turns out that, in a twisted way, the report was partially right, and we say this because the company today unveiled the new Nissan Skyline with…Infiniti badges, and we quote two passages from the official release so you can better understand the confusion:

"Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the launch of the all-new Skyline, which goes on sale late February 2014 at Nissan dealers throughout Japan."

"Offering unprecedented driving pleasure, its sensuous design, advanced technology and performance will be new benchmarks for luxury models. What supports these are Nissan's great technology strength and expertise in design gained by the development of Nissan Motor Company's world-class premium brand, Infiniti. As its proof, the new Skyline carries Infiniti badge."

So, in other words, Nissan has presented the car that the rest of the world has come to know as the new Infiniti Q50, as the new Nissan Skyline in Japan, but instead of wearing Nissan's logos, it uses Infiniti emblems.

We're guessing that Nissan didn't want to suddenly kill the Skyline nameplate so it chose the rather strange, and frankly, quite confusing solution of quietly introducing the Infiniti nameplate in its home market before making its next move. 

Other than the white turning signals up front, the replacement of the "Infiniti" moniker on the boot lid trim with the "Skyline" name, and the absence of the Infiniti logo on the trunk, there's nothing else different about the looks of the Japanese market Nissan Skyline with the global Infiniti Q50.

At launch, the new Skyline will be offered exclusively in a hybrid variant dubbed 350GT, which pairs a 296hp 3.5-liter V6 to a 50 kW motor and compact lithium ion battery, with a system output of 354 horsepower. It will be available in both RWD and AWD variants.

Prices in Japan will range from 4,496,100 yen to 5,537,700 yen ($45,300 to $55,800) including consumption tax.

Nissan noted that the previous generation V36 Skyline will continue to be sold in three grades, 250 GT, 250 Type S and 250GT FOUR.

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