Infiniti has unveiled a new four-cylinder engine for the Q50 sports sedan at the Guangzhou Motor Show in China. The new turbocharged unit will be on sale in China from spring 2014, with other global markets to follow.
The result of Infiniti’s partnership with Daimler, the 2.0-liter unit will add to the Q50’s current powertrain options – a 3.7-liter gasoline engine, a 3.5-liter hybrid and a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel. On sale in Europe this autumn, the latter is also a fruit of the company’s collaboration with Daimler.
The Euro5-compliant 2.0-liter turbocharged engine features direct injection with precise Piezo injections and produces 211hp (214PS) and 236 lb-ft (320 Nm) of torque from as low as 1,250 rpm. As with the 2.2-liter diesel, the gasoline engine has been modified by the Infiniti engineering teams to ensure engine response is in line with Infiniti’s brand characteristics.
Infiniti hasn’t offered fuel economy or performance specs of the Q50 with the new engine.
The unit is part of the company’s strategy to expand its product offerings and to adapt its model range to local customer requirements. Over the next five years, Infiniti plans to increase its model lineup by 60 percent and more than double the number of its powertrains.
Infiniti also announced that next year it will begin production of long-wheelbase Q50 and QX50 models at the Xiangyang plant in Hubei Province, China.
By Dan Mihalascu
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