Official: 2011 Infiniti M

Infiniti's range-topping model, the M, has been in production since 2006. We've been hearing rumors and speculation about the M's (Nissan Fuga in Japan) replacement for a while now, and we finally have pictures and details to shed some light on this upcoming luxury-sports sedan.

I personally am a big fan of the current M, and my road test of a well-equipped M45 Sport can be found here.  The M has always been a good middle ground in the mid-size luxury market - competing with cars like the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-series, among others.  I found it to balance performance, comfort, refinement and gee-whiz technology quite well, with a feel of athleticism that's absent from many of it's competitors - and all for a (class-reasonable) pricetag.

There's always been a focus on the technology of the M, and Infiniti's taken it a step further with the actual debut of the new M.  Rather than showing a physical prototype of the new M/Fuga, Infiniti used "Virtual Mapping" - where they project a holographic image of the car onto a 3D clay model.  Neat stuff.

The actual car itself is going to debut in person at an auto show later this year - I'd put my money on Frankfurt, perhaps - and the new M is scheduled to go on sale during spring of 2010.  We don't know all the details yet, but we do know a few things.

So far, the M will be sold with three different powertrains.  The US will get the M37, powered by an updated direct-injection version of Nissan's 3.7L VQ V6 (as seen in the 370Z, G37, etc).  Figure somewhere in the ballpark of 325bhp - about what the old M45's VK45DE V8 made.  For the power hungry, the exciting news is the new M56, featuring an enlarged 5.6L direct-injection version of Nissan's VK V8, which Infiniti claims will make more than 400 horsepower.  Europe won't get the gas-guzzling V8, but will have an option of a "high performance" turbodiesel V6, sourced from Renault.  Most likely Renault's new 3.0L diesel, expect the compression-ignition engine to make somewhere near 270bhp.  Expect standard rear-wheel-drive with optional ATTESSA all-wheel-drive, much like the current M/Fuga.

The design of the car is heavily influenced by the Infiniti Essence concept - which debuted at the 2009 Geneva Autoshow - and it shows a more organic, natural side of Infiniti's styling.  The car is still aggressive, but it's definetely curvier than the old M - which might've been drawn with a ruler for all I know.

And keeping in line with Nissan's plan for Infiniti to be a viable luxury brand on the world market, they've spent quite some effort coming up with a new interior for the M.  It's almost Jaguar-esque, and I think it looks quite inviting.

That's about all we know for now, but more details will be forthcoming soon - stay tuned!