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2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid

Infiniti launched its seven-passenger JX crossover for the 2013 model year with the automaker's familiar 3.5-liter V6 as standard equipment. For 2014, the model was renamed the QX60, and a new variant packing a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain joined the lineup. (For those interested in the family lineage, the new arrival is a mechanical twin to the Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, which we took for a Quick Spin last year).
Hidden beneath the hood of the QX60 Hybrid is a supercharged, 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine, rated at 230 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. The combustion engine is supplemented by a 15-kilowatt electric motor, fed by a small lithium-ion battery back (hidden under the rear cargo floor), which adds 20 hp and 29 lb-ft of torque to the mix. Added up, Infiniti rates the total system power at 250 hp and 243 lb-ft - numbers that fall just short of its combustion sibling (the 3.5-liter V6 in the QX60 is rated at 265 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque). The only gearbox is a continuously variable transmission that drives either the front or all four wheels, depending on what the buyer specs.
The 2014 QX60 Hybrid AWD starts at $46,500 (the green model commands a $3,000 premium over the gas-only model). A long list of factory options such as Roof Rails ($495), Theater package ($1,700), Deluxe Technology package ($6,050), illuminated kick plates ($440) and a Hybrid Premium package ($4,600) bumped our as-tested price to a healthy $60,780, including $995 for destination.

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge racing toward Detroit with Red Bull in its veins

There are several ways an automaker can get into Formula One racing. It can start its own team from scratch (like Toyota did in 2002), it can buy an existing team (like BMW did with Sauber in 2005) or it can supply engines to other teams (as so many manufacturers have done over the years). Infiniti chose another direction and opted to sponsor the world-champion Red Bull Racing team.
Infiniti has undoubtedly poured millions into its partnership with Red Bull since it started in 2011, but aside from the Sebastian Vettel edition FX (which technically emerged from the company's sponsorship of the driver as separate from the team), the tie-in has yet to translate into a Red Bull-tuned (or at least -inspired) Infiniti for the road. But that's just what Nissan's premium brand has in store for us at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show in January.
Well, almost, because the concept just announced is still a step or two away from reaching your local Infiniti dealership, but here it is just the same. It's called the Q50 Eau Rouge, and it's based on the company's latest tech-laden sports sedan. It takes its name, of course, from the famous uphill section of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit where Sebastian Vettel won the Belgian Grand Prix earlier this year, but Infiniti isn't telling us much more than that.

Daimler and Nissan to build luxury cars at new plant in Mexico

A few years back, when Daimler was looking for a partner to spread the cost of development of small cars, it agreed to collaborate with Nissan on future products, such as vehicle platforms and drivetrains. The latest development in the collaboration concerns the assembly of small luxury cars for Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz at a Nissan plant in Mexico, two unnamed sources told Reuters.
The plant in question, Aguascalientes, is a $2 billion project that will open later this year next to an existing Nissan factory. The upcoming Infiniti Q30 four-door hatchback is expected to be built there, possibly alongside the Mercedes GLA-Class, which is one of several candidates Mercedes is considering to build at this facility, Reuters reports. The GLA will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this month, and initial production of the model will take place in Germany. The Q30 could follow a similar path, with assembly starting at Nissan's Sunderland plant in the UK, and then expanding to Aguascalientes later on.
The underlying platform of the Q30 and GLA, codenamed New Generation Compact Car (NGCC), was developed by Daimler. The Q30 would be the first Infiniti produced under the automakers' agreement. Last year, Nissan agreed to make engines that would find their way into Mercedes and Infiniti vehicles.