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Infiniti To Replace FM Platform In 2021 With AWD Vehicle Architecture

On this edition of “What’s Been Infiniti Up To,” the premium division of Nissan has been looking into the future. The crystal ball, as you have learned from the headline, said that the FM platform (rear-wheel-drive) would be replaced by an all-wheel-drive architecture, which will underpin the next Q50, Q60, and Q70 starting from 2021.
Q Inspiration Concept 47 photos
Photo: Infiniti
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There are a handful of matters to talk about, so let’s start with the most obvious of them all. When asked if the three models would keep their rear-wheel-drive layout, Infiniti Motor Company product strategy vice-president Francois Bancon replied: “Probably not; probably all-wheel drive; probably a little more rear distribution.”

Speaking to Go Auto, the official delved deeper into the matter. Bancon added: “Since you shift electric, you have a motor in the front and in the back, so RWD doesn’t make sense anymore. So with the new-generation electrified platform… it’s a bit like Audi with its four-by-four [system, as in quattro with ultra technology].

From this wording, we have learned two things about the FM-replacing platform. For starters, it’ll be electrified to a certain degree thanks to the addition of at least one electric motor. And on the other hand, the Magna Flex4-based quattro ultra features a disconnecting rear axle in the Audi A4, which comes with front-wheel-drive as standard and a longitudinally-mounted powerplant.

“So what you’re saying is that the platform will be front-wheel-drive by nature but all-wheel-drive thanks to electrification?” The cited publication doesn’t reference this prospect once, but whichever way you look at it, the writing is on the wall. Adding insult to injury, the QX50 is no longer rear-/all-wheel-drive, adopting an all-new platform for the 2019 model year developed for front-/all-wheel-drive applications.

“Where does this leave the successor of the 370Z, which is supposed to borrow the chassis from the next-generation Q60?” If Nissan goes along with this plan, then yes, the 390Z or whatever it will be called will lose the rear-drive FM platform. According to an earlier report on the future Z car, the newcomer would also go turbo by borrowing the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 from the Q60 Red Sport (pictued in the photo gallery).
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Editor's note: Q Inspiration Concept pictured.

About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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