Leather Back Up Camera Cruise Control Factory Warranty Off Lease Only on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Autoblog Podcast #344

Doug DeMuro from Plays With Cars, Infiniti Q50, Subaru BRZ STI, Porsche Macan
Episode #344 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Executive Editor Chris Paukert are joined by Doug DeMuro, author of Plays With Cars and prolific internet autowriting presence. Topics include the latest spy shots of the Porsche Macan, the 2014 Infiniti Q50, and the teaser images we've recently seen of a Subaru BRZ wearing STI badges. As always, we start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #344:

Infiniti Q80 Inspiration imagines future of brand's luxury flagship

Infiniti is among the best of the non-exotic brands when it comes to crafting concepts, with designers who just seem to know how to show a truly wild vehicle with subtle hints at a future model. Just take a look at its latest Q80 Inspiration at the 2014 Paris Motor Show to see what we mean.
Infiniti claims that the Q80 imagines how it would build a future, fullsize luxury sedan to take on the stalwart Mercedes-Benz S-Class. However, in the current form it seems like a flight of fancy. It's packed with fabulously weird styling tricks, including birdwing-shaped headlights. There's also the roof and windshield that look at first glance to be a single piece of teardrop-shaped glass terminating at a boat-tail rear. In addition, the Inspiration has every concept designer's favorite gimmick - suicide doors.
Under the hood sits a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 and electric motor hybrid with a claimed 550 horsepower. The company asserts that the powertrain is actually on the way in the next two years and could do 43 miles per gallon (5.5 liters per 100 kilometers), though it's not specified on what driving cycle that's calculated on.

Infiniti showcases Vision Gran Turismo concept in the metal

Automakers have been clamoring to convey their ethos to a new generation and cast their brand in a positive light through the Vision Gran Turismo series. But while these concepts are designed for the virtual reality of Gran Turismo 6, some automakers have gone a step further by pulling their creations out of cyberspace and rendering them in the metal. And that's just what Infiniti has done with its design. Infiniti revealed its Concept Vision Gran Turismo back in December, striking a a sleek, low-slung form that looks more polished than a racing car but more track-focused than most concepts. It's powered (at least hypothetically) by a 4.5-liter V8 hybrid powertrain, with center-lock carbon-fiber wheels and rearward-biased 45/55 weight distribution. It's the kind of beast we'd love to drive, but while that may only be possible on Playstation, at least we know it does exist in physical reality – even if only as a full-scale model. Infiniti showcased it alongside the Q80 Inspiration and Q60 Concept at an exclusive event during the Shanghai Motor Show last week, but just revealed the photos now, so you can scope them out in the slideshow above. Related Video: Show full PR text INFINITI VISION GT DISPLAYED OUTSIDE ITS ONLINE WORLD FOR THE FIRST TIME SHANGHAI, China – Last week at the 2015 Shanghai auto show, Infiniti held its inaugural Infiniti Design Night ahead of Auto Shanghai 2015. The evening occasion took place at the Shanghai Himalayas Art Museum. Under the theme of "Aesthetics of Contrast," Infiniti Design Night showcased three design concepts showing an exciting path to Infiniti's future: the Q80 Inspiration (first shown in Paris, October 2014), Q60 Concept (Detroit, January 2015), and the Vision Gran Turismo designed especially for the latest Gran Turismo® 6™ video game. This was the first time the Vision GT was displayed as a real "flesh and bones" concept car, having only been seen and experienced digitally in GT6 prior to this event. The dramatic Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo The Infiniti Concept Vision Gran Turismo is a vision of what a high performance Infiniti could look like in the future. Available for download in GT6 exclusively on the PlayStation®3 system, it was created through close collaboration with the creators of Gran Turismo®, the racing game franchise developed by Polyphony Digital Inc. that has sold more than 72 million copies worldwide.