“Celebrating 20 years of Infiniti is an important milestone and we wanted to do something truly unique and representative of the Infiniti brand to commemorate this occasion,” said Wendy Durward, Director of Infiniti Canada. “The intricate, beautiful design is an expression of Infiniti’s commitment to Inspired Performance in everything we do.”

Infiniti’s partner and inspiration for the G Coupe Anniversary design concept, Cirque du Soleil, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and was also present at the unveiling.

“Both Infiniti and Cirque du Soleil are celebrating important anniversaries this year and it was incredible to be able to collaborate on a unique and special project such as this,” said Ryan Sandilands, Corporate Alliances Senior Director with Cirque du Soleil. “Guests at some upcoming Cirque du Soleil shows in Canada will be able to see this truly incredible vehicle for themselves as it will be displayed at select shows.”

Heidi Taillefer was one of several artists asked to submit a design concept for the exterior of the Infiniti G Coupe. No structural changes could be made so the car could remain safe and driveable, and able to be auctioned off for charity at a later date. Heidi’s inspired design “Ligozzi” was ultimately selected and she spent much of August and early September painting the vehicle.

“I was very excited to be asked to participate in this project and using the G Coupe as a canvas has been an amazing challenge, “said Taillefer. “With Cirque as inspiration, there was a freedom to explore unique, juxtaposing influences for the design. I’m very proud of how my design looks on the actual vehicle, and I think it’s an incredible tribute to the anniversary of both Infiniti and Cirque du Soleil.”

The Anniversary Editions are based on the G Sedan Journey and AWD, G Coupe Journey and G Convertible and come standard with a 3.7-liter V6 engine and 7-speed automatic transmission. Premium and Navigation Packages are included on all of the Anniversary Editions.

The Anniversary Edition Sedans and Coupe also receive the Sport Package and 4-Wheel Active Steer (not available on Sedan AWD). The Convertible is offered with the highly desirable climate-controlled seats.

Each Anniversary Edition comes in a new Graphite Shadow exterior color that was just added for 2010, with the interiors appointed with Monaco Red Leather. The Coupe and Convertible interiors are accented with special Red-toned Maple and the two Sedans have the new Shodo-finish aluminum trim.

Other Anniversary Edition equipment includes special aluminum-alloy wheels, W-rated summer performance tires, Midnight Black grille, unique front chin spoiler or front fascia, sport side sills (Coupe and Convertible) and rear spoiler (except Convertible). The Coupe also receives an updated rear fascia.

“We wanted to ensure that the G Anniversary Editions are the sportiest and most distinctive Infinitis offered,” added Poore. “Though they won’t arrive until April, we wanted to release pricing early to allow interested buyers to reserve the Anniversary Sedan, Coupe or Convertible of their choice before they are all gone.”

It still outperforms most of its competition on several levels. In 2008, the QX56 received quite a few enhancements including a new grill, new fog lights and new rear and front fascia construction. It also carries over a newly designed rack on the roof and now shows off its standard 20 inch alloy wheels. The instrumentation cluster has also been redesigned to be more convenient and aesthetically pleasing.

The 2010 Infiniti QX56 price does not hint at its bounty of stock and optional features.

Model name designations for the Infiniti include one letter for coupes and sedans and two for SUVs with a number reflecting engine displacement. As an example, the Q45, Infiniti’s flagship sedan through 2006, has a 4.5 liter engine. An “x” following the number signifies an all-wheel drive model car. Today, in addition to the US and Canada, Infiniti is marketed in Mexico, South Korea, and the Middle East, with plans to expand into Europe in 2007 and the UK in 2008.

It was the popular Q45 that lead Infiniti to take part of the luxury market. The vehicle included a class leading (at the time) 278 hp V8 engine, four wheel steering, the first active suspension system offered on a motor vehicle, and numerous interior comfort features.

Early Infinitis had unique platforms, but most are currently based on existing Nissan models. Some are spiffed up versions of existing Nissans sold in the same market, while others are rebranded models from the Japanese market where Nissan’s line includes high-end luxury vehicles.

It was first introduced to the United States in 1989, to offer direct competition to the luxury lines of rival companies Toyota and Honda (Lexus and Acura, respectively). A series of Zen-inspired “rocks and trees” advertisements was part of a campaign for brand awareness, but the vehicles experienced production delays, and no cars were shown, and the ad campaign ran longer than originally planned.

This model featured a rear spoiler, BBS style alloy wheels, a stiffer suspension, and HICAS (four wheel steering). HICAS was only available in the J30t from 1993-1994. The J30 remained nearly unchanged through its production period. Heated seats became standard equipment in the 1994 model year. For 1995, the J30 received subtle vertical ribbing in the tail light lenses and in ‘96 the diagnostic system was upgraded to “OBD2″. Otherwise, the J30 received only minor alterations between 1993 and 1997 model years.

The J30 went into production on April 7, 1992 as a 1993 model to replace the M30 (which was a coupe), and was launched in the United States at the same time as its competitor, the Lexus GS. The car was designed to slot between the smaller G20 and the larger Q45, as Infiniti’s first mid-size sedan. Also, it was fairly small but featured rounded styling uncharacteristic of the crowded near-luxury market. Chief exterior designer for the J30 was Jerry Hirschberg, president of Nissan Design International (NDI).

Following in the footsteps of Lexus, Nissan is testing a high-performance rear-wheel drive hybrid system on the Infiniti G35 / G37 Sedan. Developed in house by Nissan, the parallel-powertrain system comprises a system with two clutches, where one motor is directly connected to an engine and transmission via two separate clutches.

Following an earlier announcement in May -see here- Infiniti has released more details on the forthcoming G37 Convertible. Confirming earlier reports, the drop-top G37 will feature a three-piece automatic retracting hardtop, just like its main rival, BMW 3-Series Cabriolet. Power will come from Infiniti’s 328 HP 3.7-liter V6 engine matted to either an all-new electronically controlled 7-speed automatic transmission with manual mode or 6-speed manual transmission.

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