Infiniti Etherea - The future of Infiniti

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Nissan arrived at the Geneva Auto Show with its Town-pod, which was first seen at last year's Paris Auto Show, the Leaf Electric Vehicle, and the 1.2-litre supercharged Micra (March). It also unveiled two concept cars, one of which was the Infiniti Etherea.

Like Toyota's Lexus and Honda's Acura, Infiniti flies the flag for Nissan in the luxury cars segment. Although Nissan calls the Etherea a 5-door hatchback, its proportions are more akin to that of a 4-door coupe. Being a combination of a coupe and a sedan, it hints at the design direction that Infiniti is taking, with the Etherea resembling the Essence concept. Indeed, the Etherea's distinctive front mask, triangular windows, half-moon-shaped C-pillar, and body shape represents a marriage between Nissan's old and new design language. The Etherea's overall length is 4.4m, while its overall width is said to be 1780mm and its overall height, 1430mm. It will compete directly with the Lexus CT200h, which was launched in January.

Nissan has not revealed much about the Etherea's powertrain, but the "Hybrid" logo on the front door provides a strong indication as to what lies beneath. Currently, Nissan's only hybrid system is the Fuga Hybrid's 3.5-litre V6 and electric motor twin clutch setup. But the new Serena Hybrid, which will be launched in February 2012, will have a 2-litre inline-4 engine and electric motor in the FF layout. Nissan is currently exploring the possibilities of having this configuration with engines of varying capacities.

The Etherea will share the Serena Hybrid's 2-litre engine and electric motor hybrid system, and will be set in the FF layout, which will be the layout-of-choice for Infiniti models, following in the footsteps of the G20 (Nissan Primera).