What is it?
2003 Infiniti G35 Sport Coupe
What's special about it?
We've just driven the G35 sedan and concur that it deserves a place in the luxury sport sedan firmament. Some aspects of its styling, however, didn't quite jell with us, but we're willing to forgive it since it gave birth to this utterly handsome coupe. It incorporates many of the visual cues from the sedan, but they harmonize and meld into a much more attractive vehicle in the two-door form. The graceful slope of the roof accents the window lines and fits better with the L-shaped taillamps.
Although the length of its wheelbase remains static, its overall length is 4 inches shorter than the sedan, most of it lopped off the trunk area. Good thing, since we thought that the sedan had a slightly unbalanced look due to the disproportionate rear overhang. It's also 3 inches lower and 2.5 inches wider than the sedan, and the wheel arches are more pronounced to accommodate the wheels that have been pushed outward for greater stability.
The coupe is powered by the same V6 from the VQ line of powerplants, only it's been specially tuned to brew up 15 more ponies for a total of 275 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. When it goes on sale, you'll have the choice of a six-speed manual or a five-speed automanual. The sport coupe comes standard with sport suspension tuning (optional on the sedan) which complements the FM (front-midship) platform that is shared by the Nissan 350Z; an available Sport package tightens things up further, and gets you the 18-inch wheels. Standard equipment includes an in-dash six-disc CD changer and xenon headlamps.
Why should you care?
Those seeking a two-door version of a sport sedan will do very well to look into a G35, which we think will compete handily with the Acura CL Type-S, BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 in the performance and handling arena. Pricing is expected to start at under $30,000. -- Liz Kim
2003 Infiniti G35 Sport Coupe
What's special about it?
We've just driven the G35 sedan and concur that it deserves a place in the luxury sport sedan firmament. Some aspects of its styling, however, didn't quite jell with us, but we're willing to forgive it since it gave birth to this utterly handsome coupe. It incorporates many of the visual cues from the sedan, but they harmonize and meld into a much more attractive vehicle in the two-door form. The graceful slope of the roof accents the window lines and fits better with the L-shaped taillamps.
Although the length of its wheelbase remains static, its overall length is 4 inches shorter than the sedan, most of it lopped off the trunk area. Good thing, since we thought that the sedan had a slightly unbalanced look due to the disproportionate rear overhang. It's also 3 inches lower and 2.5 inches wider than the sedan, and the wheel arches are more pronounced to accommodate the wheels that have been pushed outward for greater stability.
The coupe is powered by the same V6 from the VQ line of powerplants, only it's been specially tuned to brew up 15 more ponies for a total of 275 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. When it goes on sale, you'll have the choice of a six-speed manual or a five-speed automanual. The sport coupe comes standard with sport suspension tuning (optional on the sedan) which complements the FM (front-midship) platform that is shared by the Nissan 350Z; an available Sport package tightens things up further, and gets you the 18-inch wheels. Standard equipment includes an in-dash six-disc CD changer and xenon headlamps.
Why should you care?
Those seeking a two-door version of a sport sedan will do very well to look into a G35, which we think will compete handily with the Acura CL Type-S, BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 in the performance and handling arena. Pricing is expected to start at under $30,000. -- Liz Kim
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