San Diego, California -- The bionic cheetah morphed into a supernatural cheetah. That's how Bryan Murphy, Product Planning Manager at Nissan Canada, describes the second-generation Infiniti FX crossover. "A boldly styled vehicle that combines luxury, performance and versatility in a single unique package," he adds.
Unique indeed. The 2009 FX is the pioneer of a new automotive genre -- not BMW's X6. Similar to Infiniti's "supernatural cheetah", the latter borrows its ultra-arched roofline from sports coupes so as to camouflage the rear doors and convey a strong sense of performance. But while the X6 will only hit the market later this year, the FX has been around since January 2003.
Familiar lines
The all-new 2009 FX is easy to recognize at first glance. Its familiar lines are reminiscent of a sports car's, with sleek curves and a long, ultra-tight hood. Designers only applied a minor facelift and reshaped the taillights, which now mimic the beautifully sculpted, prominent headlights.
Functional air vents (that's right) are now found on the front fenders, right behind the wheel arches. They help dissipate heat coming from the engine. Plus, they reportedly improve downforce in the front by 5 percent.
While the overall shape is basically unchanged, the revised FM chassis of this big Infiniti crossover boasts a 35-mm longer wheelbase and a 43-mm wider front track. These modifications have allowed the automaker to fit massive 21-inch Enkei alloy wheels to the top-of-the-line FX50 model. Next to it, the base FX35 would seem to be a dwarf with only 18-inch wheels, but don't be fooled. Optional 20-inch alloys are still available with this model.
A cheetah with a strong heart!
As the successor to the FX45, the 2009 FX50 is the first-ever Nissan product to use a 5.0L V8 (hence the new name). Compared to the old 4.5L engine, this one produces 390 horsepower (+70) and 369 lb-ft of torque (+34). At the same time, fuel economy is improved by 14 percent, even though the vehicle's weight is up.
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| The bionic cheetah morphed into a supernatural cheetah. |
Unique indeed. The 2009 FX is the pioneer of a new automotive genre -- not BMW's X6. Similar to Infiniti's "supernatural cheetah", the latter borrows its ultra-arched roofline from sports coupes so as to camouflage the rear doors and convey a strong sense of performance. But while the X6 will only hit the market later this year, the FX has been around since January 2003.
Familiar lines
The all-new 2009 FX is easy to recognize at first glance. Its familiar lines are reminiscent of a sports car's, with sleek curves and a long, ultra-tight hood. Designers only applied a minor facelift and reshaped the taillights, which now mimic the beautifully sculpted, prominent headlights.
Functional air vents (that's right) are now found on the front fenders, right behind the wheel arches. They help dissipate heat coming from the engine. Plus, they reportedly improve downforce in the front by 5 percent.
While the overall shape is basically unchanged, the revised FM chassis of this big Infiniti crossover boasts a 35-mm longer wheelbase and a 43-mm wider front track. These modifications have allowed the automaker to fit massive 21-inch Enkei alloy wheels to the top-of-the-line FX50 model. Next to it, the base FX35 would seem to be a dwarf with only 18-inch wheels, but don't be fooled. Optional 20-inch alloys are still available with this model.
A cheetah with a strong heart!
As the successor to the FX45, the 2009 FX50 is the first-ever Nissan product to use a 5.0L V8 (hence the new name). Compared to the old 4.5L engine, this one produces 390 horsepower (+70) and 369 lb-ft of torque (+34). At the same time, fuel economy is improved by 14 percent, even though the vehicle's weight is up.
 |
| While the overall shape is basically unchanged, the revised FM chassis of this big Infiniti crossover boasts a 35-mm longer wheelbase. |