Nissan luxury brand Infiniti has confirmed its first production hybrid vehicle will form part of the recently announced M range of luxury performance sedans.
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Infiniti says that with the introduction of the M35 hybrid will ‘realise the high performance/low emissions promise of the Essence concept car’.
The car will go on sales in some markets from the spring of 2011.
The M35 hybrid is based on the all-new Infiniti M which itself picks up styling cues from Essence, the concept shown at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year.
Infiniti’s hybrid system, developed ‘solely within Infiniti’s parent group’ (ie Nissan), is a one electric motor/twin clutch arrangement. The first clutch is installed between the naturally-aspirated 3.5-litre V6 and the electric motor. The result of this engineering configuration, where all components act on a single propshaft to the rear differential, is claimed to be a ‘consistent driving feel under all conditions with linear performance and the “direct responses” that the engineers sought’.
The electric motor acts as both propulsion unit, boosting the V6 in “power assist” mode when maximum acceleration is required, and also as a generator. As well as charging the battery in the normal way, the motor recovers energy otherwise lost during deceleration and braking. The M35 hybrid will also run solely on its electric motor in certain driving conditions, Infiniti says.
Infiniti also says that several new technologies are introduced such as a new “laminated” lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery pack that is the ‘same size as conventional batteries but offers twice the power’.
Lamination enhances the pack’s cooling performance while temperature stability is further improved by the use of manganese positive electrodes, it says. An end result of this is exceptional battery reliability.
The M35 hybrid will join the conventionally-engined M models – including a new high-performance diesel V6 for Western Europe – as the first generation of Infiniti’s luxury performance saloon to be sold across all of its world markets which currently number 33 countries.
Depending on market, sales are expected to start from Spring 2010 with the M35 hybrid variant arriving around 12 months later.
