Infiniti wants halo car: flagship sedan or R8 competitor?
Infiniti has always been on the hunt for expanding their market in order to keep up with the latest and greatest that was offered by their European and even domestic benchmarks. And we’ve seen some absolutely spectacular cars from them ever since Carlos Ghosn saved the almost-dead Nissan company and subsidiary…a comparable modern John DeLorean if I must say.
But their relentless pursuit to keep up with the likes of Audi, Lexus, BMW, Jag, Benz etc., Nissan’s North American VP of sales, Brian Carolin, had announced that “Infiniti needs a high-priced, halo flagship model,” at an interview during the Detroit Auto Show.
Where as, for example, Audi has the R8, the Mercedes SLS, Lexus and the LFA, Nissan’s only halo car is the GTR and some how Infiniti has been left out of the trend. And they’re not going to let that fly.
However, there’s much debate as to whether a flagship sedan, one to compete with the S-Class, 7-Series, A8 and XJ, is suitable instead of a R8 competitor.
“It’s kind of perennial debate within the organization: ‘What do we need by way of a flagship for the Infiniti range?’” Carolin says and states that a conclusion may be distant.
Either way, there’s no doubt in my mind that whatever Infiniti comes out is going to be is brilliant. If it’s a supercar, I just hope it’s the Essence Concept.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: WhatCar
