By: Jeffrey Ross
Autotropolis.com
One of the most important lessons when growing up is that sometimes you have to look past appearances to see the true beauty on the inside of a person. Apparently, the same is true for cars as well.
For 2008, Infiniti’s luxury coupe is growing up and if you look beyond its looks, this could truly be a beautiful car.
The 2008 Infiniti G37 sports coupe will be officially released at the New York Auto Show, which runs from April 6-15. The all-new G coupe will receive updates that should offer better handling, a better ride and more importantly increased performance. Less complimenting adjectives can be used to describe the overall exterior design.
The new G37 is being called as an evolutionary update. In plain English, Infiniti didn’t get too creative with the design. Compared to the Nissan 350Z, the G37 sports a lackluster design despite sharing the same platform.
Surprisingly, the biggest pitfall of the G37 design comes from a smaller, cheaper Nissan car, the Altima. Infiniti’s parent company, Nissan, will debut an all-new Altima coupe this summer and it will share a similar design element with the current G35 coupe. Side by side with the upcoming G37 coupe, the Altima coupe is much more inspiring and should undercut the Infiniti’s price by at least $10,000. While neither car has had pricing released yet, for speculation’s sake, the current G35 coupe has a starting MSRP at $33,450 while the 2007 Altima sedan starts at $19,800.
The front view of the G37, specifically the contoured hood lines, is mildly reminiscent of the first generation Hyundai Tiburon. Other changes up front include new headlights which have the high- and low-beam lamps positioned next to each other instead of being stacked. The rear end and quarter panels are bland and look unchanged to the naked eye. The biggest difference in the rear only appears to be updated taillights that stop at the trunk line instead of wrapping around to the quarter panels. With the G37’s main competition coming from the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz CLK-class, Hyundai Tiburon and Nissan Altima similarities probably won’t help this car too much.
One important factor that may help make the 2008 G37 successful is the all-new 3.7-liter V6 that pumps out 330 horsepower and offers 270 lb-ft of torque. The Mercedes-Benz CLK350 only manages 268 horsepower and offers an even more dated design than the Infiniti, while BMW’s 335i musters up an even 300 horsepower with the assistance of a pair of turbochargers.
The true test will come when the 2008 Infiniti G37 hits the streets later this year.