{"id":84234,"date":"2025-11-20T21:18:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84234"},"modified":"2025-11-20T21:18:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T02:18:28","slug":"infiniti-ultimate-performance-cars-bmw-m-rivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=84234","title":{"rendered":"Infiniti Is Plotting a Direct Attack on BMW M \u2014 With \u201cUltimate Performance\u201d Cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, we heard that Infiniti might be working on re-entering the performance sedan market. After all, the Q60, its last entrant into the space, has been out of production for a few years now. With the luxury marque\u2019s parent company, Nissan, in somewhat dire straits, nothing should be off the table. As it turns out, we might get something even hotter than a 450-horsepower 3 Series fighter<\/a> \u2014 Infiniti execs claim to be going right for the jugular, targeting BMW M, Mercedes AMG, and Audi RS with \u201cultimate performance\u201d cars.<\/p>\n

Infiniti\u2019s All-Out Run For Performance<\/h3>\n

In words with Automotive News<\/em>, Nissan Americas product planning chief Ponz Pandikuthira shared what the future holds for Infiniti. Reportedly, the brand\u2019s motorsports division, Nismo, is helping to breathe new life into existing and future models. Reportedly, the project is targeting \u201clow volume,\u201d and is in an \u201cadvanced planning stage.\u201d Pandikuthira expressed a desire to bring high-octane and high-adrenaline excitement that doesn\u2019t compromise on comfort. \u201cCustomers want ultimate performance but don\u2019t want to compromise on luxury, quietness and fine design,\u201d he told AN.<\/em> Sounds a lot like the mantra over at BMW M.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bridge further than Infiniti\u2019s previous attempts at \u201cperformance,\u201d too. Unlike the Q60 IPL, which featured a retuned suspension and numerous other changes but only a paltry 18-horsepower gain over the standard car, the new performance models will deliver a patently different experience. Infiniti Americas VP Tiago Castro to AN<\/em>: \u201cIt\u2019s easy just to do another 20 hp, but how do you deliver 50 percent more horsepower with reliability?\u201d He even called out the Q60 IPL specifically, lamenting the meager power gains: \u201cWhat I don\u2019t want to do is exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Infiniti\u2019s BMW M-Fighting Performance Cars Might Offer<\/h3>\n

AN<\/em> goes on to report that Infiniti will offer a variety of vehicles that could fight BMW M\u2019s lineup. The QX80, a three-row SUV, is the only current vehicle identified by name. It would likely target the BMW X7 M60i, Cadillac\u2019s Escalade V, and other big power\/big dollar three-row SUVs. A true M3-fighting performance sedan (and\/or coupe) is a given, although that of course requires resurrecting Infiniti\u2019s now-dead sedan offering. As we\u2019ve reported before, the new Infiniti sedan would be based on the current Nissan Z<\/a> and offer a manual transmission. While the standard car was rumored to offer as much as 450 horsepower, it\u2019s likely we\u2019d see even more from a true M-rivaling Infiniti sedan.<\/p>\n

Regardless of metrics and details, Infiniti\u2019s performance car brings something even more important than raw performance to the brand: desirability. The halo effect of a real M3-fighting sedan, for example, also allows the brand to sell that many more base cars. Think about it: how many standard 3 Series does BMW sell to people who are lured to the brand by the M3? If Infiniti manages to bring any performance project to market, there\u2019s a good chance it would undercut comparable BMW M models in price without too much compromise in performance. At least, assuming Infiniti stays true to its past endeavors. Interestingly, there\u2019s a Nissan GT-R successor allegedly in the works, but no comments from the Infiniti side regarding it. Odds are, though, that Infiniti wants to move fast. That car isn\u2019t expected to arrive for another three to five years, which may simply not be soon enough for the luxury automaker.<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0Automotive News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this year, we heard that Infiniti might be working on re-entering the performance sedan market. After all, the Q60, its last entrant into the space, has been out of production for a few years now. With the luxury marque\u2019s parent company, Nissan, in somewhat dire straits, nothing should be off the table. As it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":84235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/84235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}