Came across this randomly and just wanted to share. You can just skip to the 1 minute mark.

 

Good intentions. I wonder what went wrong.

Maybe it was marketing a performance line where the gains were noticeable by no one.

 

I had the Journey and then the IPL and have driven a G with the Sport package a few times. I THINK if they put a turbo in the IPL, or a V8, and kept the price the same they would still be around. Not really much difference to justify the extra cost, in my humble opinion.

 

Just imagine a V8 in the IPL.



That would be something I would want. Really bad too, LOL.

Shades of the old Lexus SC400. In fact, very much the same kind of car, similar design, similar market.

 

Blast from the past. This is a great find.

@Rochester - Back when this concept was on the table and up until about 2019, adding a V-8 would of pushed the cost into the 50K range, which was not marketable back then (I also question if the Infiniti V-8 was as proven as our VQ37VHR); Post pandemic, people are now paying 50K for FWD and Hot Hatch Performance cars and not blinking an eye.

Good to see that Infiniti was thinking about us enthusiasts when they designed the IPL.

 

The IPL G coupe with the 5.6L V8, LSD, and 6mt is definitely intriguing. Wonder if anyone has done that?

 

I read an interview many years ago with a Nissan executive. The interviewer asked about a V8 in the G. If I remember correctly, the executive said they could make the 4.5 liter V8 from the M45 and FX45 fit but they weren't going to do it because it made a few less horsepower than the V6 from the G, even though the V8 had way more torque. Don't remember his exact words but basically he said in a nice way that people were too stupid to understand torque vs horsepower. He didn't think people would pay more for a V8 that had less horsepower than a V6.

 

That makes sense as most understand HP marketing, not realizing that torque is what moves the car. The V-8 would also consume more fuel. The industry analysts would be all over this choice with negative criticism. Since the VQ37VHR is fairly optimized in stock form, seems that they did what they could to squeeze a few extra HP from the powerplant with larger exhaust. Creating a partnership with Stillen and leveraging their SC as OEM may have been a better choice at the time, similar to the Dinan/BMW relationship, but the margin requirements for Infiniti would have likely pushed the cost of the car close to that 50K range they were trying to avoid.

Water under the bridge at this point...

 

Couldn't say it any better. It will be up to the aftermarket and modding communities to make these things happen. There are already LS and VR38 swaps being done.

Did they really, though? To me, it was a half-a**ed attempt.

If Infiniti had put forth 1/10th the effort into the "IPL" like Nissan does NISMO, then maybe the brand would have stood the chance. They lost their direction and will soon likely be forgotten about.

 

Ironically, that's what makes the IPL an awesome, uncommon car to own. It's personal.

It's how I feel about my 6MT Sedan, although the IPL is more cool.

 

Just for the record, the IPL is faster than my Journey was. Not massivley but you could feel the extra power. Don't mean 0-60 but just everyday driving. Honeslty the IPL engine should have been the standard G37 engine because it's only a little bit louder and it even got the same gas mileage, according to the EPA. But you buy the IPL for the looks, not the performance. That's why I did it. The younger crowd still ask me about it and I get stares when I drive past them. But they should have called the Q60/Q50 Red Sports the IPL's