5:25 AM
Auto Car Design and Review
With the debut of the Etherea concept, Infiniti signaled that it’s developing a new compact hatchback to compete with models like the Audi A3 and BMW 1-series. What the company didn’t say then—but has subsequently told us—is that the car will borrow its underpinnings from the Mercedes-Benz parts bin. Nissan/Renault and Daimler recently announced a technology partnership, and one of the big components is the front-wheel-drive platform developed for Benz’s A- and B-class family.
We’re assured, though, that the Infiniti hatch will use its own version of the platform. Infiniti’s compact will have an atypical design for a five-door hatchback, with less of a two-box shape like the Audi A3's. It’s possible this could mean we’ll be seeing a small, low crossover from Infiniti, but it seems even more likely it’ll be a regular car with a fastback profile.
Basic powertrains will be gasoline and, for Europe, diesel, but we suspect that either a hybrid or fully electric version will be offered, as well.
“There are very few mass brands that make that walk into luxury. And there’s a reason for that, which is embedded somewhere within the way the products are executed and in the engineering. A luxury brand will need much better torsional rigidity, much better NVH than you would put into a mass brand.
If you have a product that handles like an A-class or a B-class, with that level of NVH, with that level of torsional rigidity, but you can do it at a cost which is closer to where a mass brand would be, then you’re in a very good place from a competitive point of view. And that’s where we’re trying to be.”
The Infiniti model, which will likely not be called the Etherea when it hits production, will definitely be coming to the U.S. market. Until it arrives, read our first drive of the show car here.
