2003 Nissan Fuga Review
A Future Infiniti M45 in the Making?
Upon release in America, the Infiniti M45 was heralded as the return of the muscle car - a bizarre concept considering that this most compelling rear-drive V8 powered machine comes from nowhere near Detroit. It had, and still has the credentials to do hold up to this brawny image, a big burly engine, relatively large stature, handsome upright sedan exterior with clean-cut edges, long overhangs trimmed out with an intimidating, chromed grille. Sounds like a muscle car to me.
The body is essentially borrowed from the Japanese-domestic market Gloria and Cedric, but the M45 we know features a hulking 4.5 liter V8 that serves up a massive 340 horsepower. Whats more it is a wood-trimmed and leather-lined muscle car, fitted with the best of Infinitis accommodations. But despite its power and opulence the Gloria/Cedric/M45 architecture has aged remarkably quickly with the introduction of other new large luxury sedans from Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, but also including the threat of Infinitis own G35.
Nissans response to these new rivals was recently unveiled at this years Tokyo motor show. And the Fuga might just be the car thats shapes the automakers future luxury face. From the outside, its stylists have penned an evolutionary theme to the structured and slightly boxy M45 design. The muscular attitude of the Fuga is expressed successfully by the use of heavily arched fenders that peak to a delta shape before flowing down to the bulging hood. The chromed, slightly bulbous grille has grown in size, and is thinly capped at its top and bottom.
This tasteful styling accent has also been reflected in trim lining the lower front valance, side trim and the arch that spans the roofline starting at the base of the A-pillars and ending at the rear fascia. It encloses the cars crystal-clear reverse lights as well. From this rear end view the new concept continues the modernized muscle car theme with a smooth roofline that ends with a swift drop to the cars flush rear bumper, highlighting integrated exhaust tips.
Its amazing how headlights can thoroughly transform the look of a car. The relatively plain, rectangular units featured on the M45 have been replaced with far more stylish, modern L-shaped polycarbonate units. Here, a display of Nissans engineering creativity is expressed in gatling-gun-style high-intensity discharge beams, similar to those featured on the Infiniti Q45/Nissan Cima, but one-upped by a dual-beam system that shines a luminous bright blue. With accent rings, and a design that would emulate the ideal death ray for a space science-fiction film, the Fugas beams simply stun driver and passengers amazed with their forward projection. Orange stripes of LED lights stretch from the base out to the headlamps edge, forming the turn signal lights: very clever, nicely detailed and oh-so cool. If, as the saying goes, the eyes are the windows to the soul, its headlamp clusters are a pretty good indication as to whats deep inside the Fuga.
The soul would be Nissan/Infinitis superb 340-hp 4.5-L 32-valve DOHC V8, ample for propelling the rear-wheel drive sedan to hyper speeds in the blink of a… headlight? The motor is one of the most powerful V8s in current production, and easily the most powerful standard engine in the midsize luxury class.
Controlling the power and torque is a chassis thats racked up quite a list of awards while endearing a clear-cut following in its short existence. Using FM-L architecture, which stands for Front-Midship-Large, the actual engine location has been pushed back as far as possible to create greater overall balanced. Stretched to 194.1 inches in length, the FM-L is more or less an extended version of the platform shared with the Infiniti G35/FX35/45/Nissan 350 Z.
Despite appearing smallish as shown in photos, the Fuga is actually larger than the Gloria/M45 by a fair margin, and in fact, it approaches the 196.8 inches overall length of the flagship Q45. In terms of the competition that the Fuga, or next generation M45 must face, it is longer than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class as well as the Lexus GS by 4.7 inches and 5.1 inches respectively. Again, this is all spawned from the G35s rear-wheel driven chassis.
Swing the doors open and driver and passengers are greeted by one of the most beautiful cockpits seen in years, not an unusual scenario for Nissan/Infiniti products as of late. A marvelous combination of high tech, high-end hand-crafted luxury is spread throughout the cabin. The dashboard, thickly padded with leather, is accented with black piano-key lacquer and fine strips of real aluminum. Under the shelter of a thin strip of light-colored wood are four aluminum gauges that glow the same iridescent blue as the headlights. To add to the ambience, theyre backlit in red.
Though the Fuga integrates a similar dashboard-mounted control layout as the Cima/Q45/Gloria/M45 and Primera, it doesnt protrude outwards awkwardly. Rather, it flows more fluidly into the sweeping center console, trimmed in black lacquer. Along both sides, ambient light illuminates the footwells giving the car a warm, comfortable feel.
The ambient warmth and luxury experienced up front continues throughout the rest of the Fugas cabin. Along the door railing and roof, more of the pale blue lighting emits a cozy glow. Nissans now trademark SkyView roof (Maxima/Quest) has also been added, but with an innovative twist. Rather than just letting pure daylight in, it stores it, brightening the cabin with natural light when outside forces of nature render conventional glass sunroofs useless.
A common complaint that the current Gloria/M45 receive is that the platforms shorter wheelbase limits rear legroom. This has been cured with the longer wheelbase allowed by the FM-L architecture, as well as a taller overall height. On this subject, four thickly padded and ergonomically contoured floating seats are set into the new concept. Their bases, similar to the rear console and doors, are trimmed in more of the same light-color birds eye maple. It would be a true shame if Nissan did not carry this beautifully crafted, sensual interior over to any of its upcoming models.
As a near-flagship concept car, the Fuga also serves as a method to display Nissans upcoming technologies. In a world where passive collision protection is simply not enough, the Japanese marque has equipped the prototype with their special VDC stability control system. In addition to this, the car also features a lane-keeping system, which warns the driver if the car strays out of its lane.
Whats more, intelligent brake-activated pre-crash seatbelts are part of the conceptual package, a new concept that Nissan intends to develop for its production models. When the cars sensors detect a panic stop, they tighten to keep the occupants safe and secure. Finally, the Fuga receives Adaptive Cruse Control (ACC), similar to the intelligent cruise control systems used by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Jaguar. Using sensors mounted at the front of the car, the car will automatically adjust its speed depending on the vehicles or obstacles ahead.
Much like the C-Note, and other recent Nissan concepts, the Fuga is an auguring of future Nissan products. I expect that it will in fact replace the current Cima/M45, a car that is expected to arrive in dealerships some time next year. In Japan, the replacement will most likely be paired up with one of several V6s, most likely a direct-injection 3.0 liter V6 in base form, and the brilliant VQ30DET 280 horsepower V6 in top trim levels, hooked up to the Extroid CVT transmission.
In America, the story should be a familiar one. Being that the 4.5 liter V8 and 5-speed automatic transmission combo is relatively new, theres no reason to expect anything different than what powers the current M45/Q45. The wild card could be all-wheel drive (AWD). With Infiniti now offering AWD as optional equipment in its G35 and FX models, it is possible the system could be adapted to the more powerful drivetrain.
No matter what alternative drive systems Nissans Infiniti division offers one things for sure, a replacement for the slow selling Q45 and M45 sedans is needed. If the brand manages to translate the front-midship G35s superb driving dynamics to its new longer wheelbase large cars, combined with stellar styling as seen in this tantalizing prototype, without question sales will improve dramatically. Watch out Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti is on the warpath.