Los Angeles, California--Push a button. Wait 25 seconds. That's all it takes these days to transform a luxury coupe into a luxury convertible. At least when it comes to the Infiniti G37 Convertible -- an all-new drop-top that's been conceived to look identical to its coupe sister. But ironically, they had to re-invent much of everything back of the A-pillar -- including the A-pillar -- to make the similarity happen.
Clamshell roof
Ian Forsyth, Director of Product Planning, Nissan Canada, explains: "We wanted to maintain that coupe look -- long hood, with a short and low rear deck. We accomplished this by designing a clamshell roof design."
By that he means, when the top is down and the three roof panels are folded in the trunk, they take on a clam-like shape.
This is in contrast to rivals, like the BMW 3-Series Cabriolet and Volvo C70; their folded roof panels are stacked -- a thicker sandwich that calls for a corresponding higher rear deck.
To get that "clam" deep enough into the trunk cavity, engineers had to move the suspension outward. Net result: slightly wider overall width and wider rear track than the coupe; an amazing lack of trunk space when the roof is down; beautiful coupe-like proportions.
Open-top cars usually need some additional bracing, but Forsyth noted that the rear-drive FM platform, which is the basis for all G-series vehicles, is plenty rigid already. "We just upgraded this platform for the second-generation coupes and sedans -- there wasn't a huge amount of work to be done for the convertible model... a new front cross member... the rear suspension work... some other modifications. Most of it was pretty subtle stuff."
Hitting the road
In addition to the roof and the aforementioned engineering, there are other differences (both cosmetically and in equipment trim levels) between the coupes and the convertibles. But we'll get to them later. Why? Because Infiniti brought us to California, gave us keys to a fire-red G Convertible with a 6-speed manual, and told us to get lost (between feeding sessions at least). And we did as we were told.
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| There are two models available: Sport and Premier. |
Clamshell roof
Ian Forsyth, Director of Product Planning, Nissan Canada, explains: "We wanted to maintain that coupe look -- long hood, with a short and low rear deck. We accomplished this by designing a clamshell roof design."
By that he means, when the top is down and the three roof panels are folded in the trunk, they take on a clam-like shape.
This is in contrast to rivals, like the BMW 3-Series Cabriolet and Volvo C70; their folded roof panels are stacked -- a thicker sandwich that calls for a corresponding higher rear deck.
To get that "clam" deep enough into the trunk cavity, engineers had to move the suspension outward. Net result: slightly wider overall width and wider rear track than the coupe; an amazing lack of trunk space when the roof is down; beautiful coupe-like proportions.
Open-top cars usually need some additional bracing, but Forsyth noted that the rear-drive FM platform, which is the basis for all G-series vehicles, is plenty rigid already. "We just upgraded this platform for the second-generation coupes and sedans -- there wasn't a huge amount of work to be done for the convertible model... a new front cross member... the rear suspension work... some other modifications. Most of it was pretty subtle stuff."
Hitting the road
In addition to the roof and the aforementioned engineering, there are other differences (both cosmetically and in equipment trim levels) between the coupes and the convertibles. But we'll get to them later. Why? Because Infiniti brought us to California, gave us keys to a fire-red G Convertible with a 6-speed manual, and told us to get lost (between feeding sessions at least). And we did as we were told.
 |
| Open-top cars usually need some additional bracing, but Forsyth noted that the rear-drive FM platform, is plenty rigid already. |