Infiniti won’t offer anymore V-8 engines in its luxury vehicles, according to a new report from Motoring. Johan de Nysschen, the Infiniti global president, said during a product launch in Australia that the automaker doesn’t know of any reason to still offer V-8 engines. He cited the stricter fuel economy standards. Rather, Infiniti will depend on four- and six-cylinder engines with turbocharging or hybrid drive systems. These powertrains have the power output of a V-8 but their fuel consumption is much lower. Presently, there are only three Infiniti vehicles for the U.S. market with eight-cylinder engines. These are the FX50 crossover with the 390-hp 5.0-liter unit, the M56 sedan with the 420-hp 5.6-liter engine, and the QX56 three-row SUV with the 400-hp 5.6-liter engine.
Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer told Motoring that the stricter corporate average fuel economy requirements and emission standards in the U.S. as well as worldwide would make the development of V8s as part of a new lineup of engines nearly impossible.
Infiniti’s M luxury sedan shows off the potential for downsized engines. The M35h hybrid is equipped with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine and hybrid drivetrain that offer a combined output of 360 hp but the luxury sedan returns 27/32 mpg (city/highway). On the other hand, the 420-hp, V-8-powered M56 has a rating of just 16/25 mpg with rear-wheel drive, and the 330-hp, V-6-powered M37 could only offer 18/26 mpg.
