Infiniti has officially given the go-signal to produce the FX Sebastian Vettel Edition SUV. The announcement was made by Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer, stating that the successful relationship between Infiniti and Red Bull Racing was one of the key factors in green lighting the production of the special edition SUV on a limited basis.
In the interview, Palmer said that the collaboration between Infiniti and the now two-time F1 World Champion was not only fun for everybody, but it also brought into light the capabilities of the Infiniti Performance Line as a potential competitor for the likes of Mercedes’ AMG class and BMW’s M-Series.
"This is one of the first versions that will go to market," Palmer said.
"It’s not as an IPL—it’ll obviously go as the Sebastian Vettel special version, but it demonstrates we’re able to do these low volume, very special versions and be able to charge a premium for that kind of work. Again, hopefully, with Sebastian now the world champion, the demand for his special version is going to be that much higher," he added.
Nissan, Infiniti’s parent company, released a segment of the interview with Palmer, which you can watch by checking out the video above.
Leading up to the Frankfurt Motor Show, there were a few concepts that we were really looking forward to seeing, one of them being the Infiniti Sebastian Vettel Edition.
Quite frankly, we knew very little about the car other than the fact that it was a concept Infiniti FX. Well, Frankfurt has come and gone, and if we do say so ourselves, the FX Sebastian Vettel Concept completely blew us away.
It’s not just that it’s one of the few cars on the market that has been designed and built with Formula One knowledge, but Infiniti and Red Bull took all that information and put it into an SUV that’s looking to blow away the rest of the field.
In the decision to build the FX Sebastian Vettel Concept, the Japanese automaker wanted more than just Vettel’s input; they wanted him to have significant say on what the car will be built on. That meant a premium on performance and improved downforce, as well as being stylishly sexy.
In the end, the result was even better than any of us even anticipated.
UPDATE 10/11/2011: Infiniti has officially given the go-signal to produce the FX Sebastian Vettel Edition SUV. The announcement was made by Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer, stating that the successful relationship between Infiniti and Red Bull Racing was one of the key factors in green lighting the production of the special edition SUV on a limited basis.
In the interview, Palmer said that the collaboration between Infiniti and the now two-time F1 World Champion was not only fun for everybody, but it also brought into light the capabilities of the Infiniti Performance Line as a potential competitor for the likes of Mercedes’ AMG class and BMW’s M-Series.
Nissan, Infiniti’s parent company, released a segment of the interview with Palmer, which you can watch by clicking on the photo above.
Find out more about the Infiniti FX Sebastian Vettel Concept after the jump.
The Infiniti FX is the Nissan-owned company’s mid-size luxury crossover SUV. It was released back in 2003, along with its main competitors, the Porsche Cayenne and Volvo XC90. Its first generation lasted six years on the market before it was revamped and given another chance at increasing sales for the Japanese automaker.
The second generation Infiniti FX was launched on the market in 2009, and despite the fact that it has had a less than stellar performance, its sales are still stable and have lead Infiniti in their expansion to new markets all over the world. For the 2012 model year, the FX has been revised with subtle styling changes inspired by the Essence Concept and has received an extra version in the "Limited Edition" for the FX35 AWD.
Hit the jump to read more about the 2009-2012 Infiniti FX.
Seeing an update package for an Infiniti FX models does not happen very often, especially if its based on a diesel version of the SUV. But, the Infiniti Center in Hamburg in colaboration to its tuner AHG Sports have unveiled the FX 30dS "AHG Sports", a model that features a shifted body, a new set of wheels and new suspension springs that will improve the car’s aerodynamics.
The car sits on a new set of wheels from the CC line of Schmidt Revolution from Bad Segeberg in the appropriate size of 11x21 inches with appropriate tires in 295/40R21. The new wheels were combined with a new set of spring suspensions that will lower the car’s ride by 25 milimters.
And to make a car worthy of its "Sports" name, the Hamburg team has increased a performance of the FX 30dS, which makes 280 hp (up from a standard of 238 hp) and to a peak torque of 442 lbs-ft.
The SUV market may be slowly, very slowly, shrinking as more and more people decide that smaller, more efficient models are the way to go, and Infiniti seems to have noticed. The Japanese company revealed details on the FX luxury SUV and with those details came news of a price decrease for the mid-sized SUV. The FX50’s price saw a decrease of $2,600 USD and the FX35 model got reduced by $1,250 USD. Both received a few updates for the new year as well. For 2011, the FX will be offered in three trim levels: FX50 AWD with 5.0-liter V8 - $56,400, FX35 AWD with 3.5-liter V6 - $43,050, and FX35 RWD with 3.5-liter V6 - $41,600.
The 2011 FX will be offered with two engines: a standard 5.0-liter V8 engine rated at 390 HP and 369 lb-ft of torque and a 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 engine with 303 HP and 262 lb-ft of torque.
Infiniti will offer only five option packages: Premium Package, Deluxe Touring Package, different for the FX35 and FX50, Sport Package (FX50 only), Technology Package (FX50 and FX35). Safety features found on every 2011 FX include a seat belt reminder system; standard Infiniti Advanced Air Bag System (AABS); dual-stage front supplemental air bags with occupant classification and seat belt sensors; seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags; and roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags for enhanced outboard seat occupant head protection.
