Ten years after it debuted in Canada, the Q45 luxury sedan will return to its sporty roots next spring when it shows up at Infiniti stores in its third iteration.
The 2002 Q45 will look considerably like the car that debuted this week at the New York International Auto Show and it will almost certainly have the new car's running gear. According to Ian Forsyth, director of product planning for Infiniti inCanada, the all-new Q45 premium luxury sedan will boast dramatic styling, potent performance, a superb interior and state of the art technology.
"This car will combine a remarkable blend of sports-sedan luxury and future technology," Forsyth says. "On one hand, it will be a true driver's car. On the other, it will offer the latest in safety technology such as radar-governed cruise-control, skid-resistant stability control, rear-view camera, an industry leading headlight system and so on."
Forsyth says the key goal for the 2002 Q45 was a fresh balance of performance and luxury, with the emphasis on performance. The key to this performance is a 32-valve, DOHC 4.5-litre V8 that delivers 340 horsepower and 333 pound-feet of torque through a 5-speed automatic transmission that gets one of those manual-matic devices that allows psuedo-shifting.
This new powertrain should put the new Q's 0-100 km/h time at 6 seconds, which is roughly 2 seconds faster than the 2000 Q45 with its 4.1-litre V8 now on the market.