Road Test
Back in the so-called good old days, when a car was offered in both coupe and sedan forms, you could count on the two-door version being lighter, sportier, and more stylish. That's almost the case with the 2008 Infiniti G37 coupe, but not quite, because it's about 100 pounds heavier than its sedan counterpart, the G35, which mostly underpins it.
What gives? Infiniti says the coupe's larger doors require more reinforcement to achieve a high side-impact crash rating. Extra crash structure adds weight, but don't expect a "Safety Kills the Sports Coupe" headline any time soon. Larger brakes and a slightly heavier engine contribute some pounds as well. Gaining 100 pounds is an unfortunate but not inexcusable way to shed the family-car image and increase your sex appeal.
The G37 copes with the extra heft over its sedan stablemate-and satisfies the sportier criterion-with a new 3.7-liter version of Nissan's venerable VQ V-6 engine. The boost in displacement comes from a longer stroke; both the 3.5- and 3.7-liter engines in the G-car feature a taller block than the previous generation's powerplant. The G37 takes the latest engine improvements a step further and adds variable valve timing and variable lift on the intake side, and the compression ratio increases to 11.0:1. Power is up 24 horsepower at 330, and the torque output increases two pound-feet to 270.
