Author: Staff (Page 82 of 202)

Infiniti has shared an exciting new project with Dashboard News! For the past few months, they’ve taken the 400-HP engine of the QX56 from a towing workhorse to a luxury boat motor with the help of local community college students. They’ve provided a press release with more information, which you can check out below.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (July 27, 2011) – The Infiniti QX56 full-size luxury SUV might be best known for its leather-trimmed, 7-passenger interior and technological advances like the world’s first Around View™ Monitor, but its real claim to fame could be its powerful, 400-horsepower 5.6-liter V8 engine and 8,500-pound towing capacity. Offering strong low-end torque, smooth operation throughout the entire RPM range and peak torque of 413 lb-ft, the Infiniti QX certainly has “power to go, power to tow” credentials in spades.

Now, in a unique twist on putting the cart before the horse, Infiniti has embarked on a one-off project to add QX power to what’s being towed – a boat modified around a QX engine and designed with the luxury, performance and craftsmanship of its flagship SUV.

“The genesis for the Infiniti QX-powered luxury boat project came about when a group of us were talking about our full-size SUV’s standing as the perfect luxury tow vehicle – capable of carrying tons of weight, and lots of people and their cargo, in style,” said Infiniti Americas Vice President Ben Poore. “So what better object to tow than a boat custom-outfitted to QX-inspired standards, starting with its powerful but fuel-efficient engine and continuing with semi-aniline leather on the seats, XM® satellite radio system with NavWeather™ and Bose® speakers, and signature Infiniti analog clock.”

The first step in the Infiniti luxury boat project is well underway with the extraction and maritime prep of the QX engine. With assistance from Infiniti engineers and training managers, a team of automotive technical training program students from Tennessee Technical Center-Nashville and Nashville State Community College removed the 5.6-liter engine and 7-speed automatic transmission from a 2011 Infiniti QX. Infiniti donated the rest of the vehicle to Tennessee Tech for continued use in their automotive curriculum.

Continue reading »