Infiniti planning to take on Porsche Panamera

Infiniti are planning a new range-topping car, but they pl;an to take on cars like the Porsche Panamera, rather than the Mercedes S Class.

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Back in 2009 – ahead of Infiniti launching in Europe – the Infiniti Essence arrived at the Geneva Motor Show as an illustration of what we could expect to see from Infiniti in the future.

That was four years ago, but now it looks like the Essence may be on its way to production – after a slight stretch and the acquisition of a couple of extra doors – after Andy Palmer, Nissan’s VP for Future Products, told Automotive News Infiniti is planning a range-topping flagship to take on the Porsche Panamera.

The Essence seems a good starting point for that mission; it’s already a big (over 15′ long) swoopy-coupe with a hybrid powerplant consisting of a 3.7 litre turbo V6 and electric motor combination good for 590bhp. All it’s missing is a bit more room in the back and a couple of extra doors.

It seems likely that Infiniti will base a production Essence – perhaps badged Q100 – on Mercedes latest modular rear-wheel drive platform that underpins the new C, E and S Class, and look to have a production ready car in place by 2016.

Add the new Essence-based range-topping Coupe to the plans for a supercar based on the Emerg-E Concept, and Infiniti could really start to make an impact at the top end in the next few years.