Photo: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
Infiniti has discontinued the Q60 coupe, which is just a re-badged G37, for the 2016 model year. At the same time, the Japanese luxury automaker promised its all-new premium two-door would be ready to battle the BMW 4 Series and Mercedes-Benz "C-Coupe" for the 2017 model year.
These are our first spy photos of the second-generation Q60 model. Several prototypes were seen wearing black camouflage at a test facility in Germany. They are surrounded by several brand-new Mercedes models, including the GLC-Class and the S-Class. However, the Audi Q7 makes a cameo appearance on the road just outside this location.
As part of a deal signed by Daimler and the Renault-Nissan alliance, Mercedes gave Infiniti a huge helping hand with the Q30 entry-level model. It is based entirely on the MFA platform of the A-Class and GLA, also sharing all of their major engines.
However, the Q60 probably doesn't have a C-Class platform hiding under that sexy new two-door skin. That's because Infiniti has a perfectly adequate rear-wheel-drive architecture that it developed for the popular Q50 sedan. At least one engine will be sourced from the Germans, though, and we think it could be as many as three.
The turbocharged 2.0-liter used by the Mercedes C-Class is already found under the Q50's hood. It should make the transition to coupe form very easily. We might also see a 170/177 PS 2.1-liter diesel engine offered to European customers.
The first one makes perfect sense, because the twin-turbo 3.0-liter used by the Mercedes-Benz C400/C450 is superior to the 3.7-liter developed by Infiniti. But why is Mercedes giving so much to what's essentially a rival firm? It could be a misleading report, or the Germans might be giving them an outdated unit that's going to be replaced by the new 4.0-liter found in the Mercedes-Benz G500, for example.
In any case, Nissan's luxury division already makes the 2.0-liter turbo engine under license in North America. That means it's not really a case of asking Mercedes to build engines and ship them over.
As part of a deal signed by Daimler and the Renault-Nissan alliance, Mercedes gave Infiniti a huge helping hand with the Q30 entry-level model. It is based entirely on the MFA platform of the A-Class and GLA, also sharing all of their major engines.
However, the Q60 probably doesn't have a C-Class platform hiding under that sexy new two-door skin. That's because Infiniti has a perfectly adequate rear-wheel-drive architecture that it developed for the popular Q50 sedan. At least one engine will be sourced from the Germans, though, and we think it could be as many as three.
The turbocharged 2.0-liter used by the Mercedes C-Class is already found under the Q50's hood. It should make the transition to coupe form very easily. We might also see a 170/177 PS 2.1-liter diesel engine offered to European customers.
Here comes the weird part
Take this with a grain of salt, but according to a report from Motoring, the Q60 will get a 3.0-liter V6 and a 4.7-liter V8 from Mercedes-Benz.The first one makes perfect sense, because the twin-turbo 3.0-liter used by the Mercedes-Benz C400/C450 is superior to the 3.7-liter developed by Infiniti. But why is Mercedes giving so much to what's essentially a rival firm? It could be a misleading report, or the Germans might be giving them an outdated unit that's going to be replaced by the new 4.0-liter found in the Mercedes-Benz G500, for example.
In any case, Nissan's luxury division already makes the 2.0-liter turbo engine under license in North America. That means it's not really a case of asking Mercedes to build engines and ship them over.
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