The History of Infiniti

Officially, the Infiniti brand has been around since 1989, but the story actually began four years earlier: in 1985, Nissan created the secret Horizon Task Force to begin producing high-quality, premium cars.

The U.S. has always been a desirable market for Japanese manufacturers, but the Nissan brand was associated by locals with simple and cheap cars. The Japanese company decided to 'start from scratch', and that is why the Infiniti brand can be considered young.The company's name comes from the word Infinity, and the symbol of the company became an oval with a triangle inside, symbolizing an endless road.The company's specialists have developed a special system of marking models, through which you can easily identify the size and engine volume of the car.The further in the alphabet the letters are - the bigger the car, the prefix X stands for all-wheel drive, and the numbers - the engine displacement.

Surprising coincidence, but it was then that their main competitor Toyota introduced its new brand Lexus, focused on the same market. I have not found confirmation of who was the author of the idea of creating a separate brand for the U.S., so we will consider it a coincidence.

And so, Americans were the first to see the Infiniti Q45 and Lexus LS 400 in 1989. Despite the statement about the new brand, most cars have a common platform with Nissan models, only in 1996, the company released the original Q45 with V8 engine, which is loved by Americans, and then in the model lineup appeared SUV QX4. After the success of the big cars, the Japanese took on the middle class and in '98 introduced the G20, based on the Nissan Primera with a more economical 2.0 engine. The success of the G20 prompted the manufacturer to produce the I30, a sedan based on the Maxima, with a 3-liter engine that develops 240 horsepower.In the 2000s, Infiniti continued to distance itself from its 'parent' company and introduced the bolder Q45 in New York. The car incorporated all the latest technology, a powerful V8 and an adaptive automatic transmission, and the interior was finished in leather and wood to emphasize status. A big breakthrough for the company in 2003 was the first generation of the Infiniti FX45, a true sport SUV. It was it, for the most part, that spurred the company's entry into other markets.

And while the company was thinking about how to conquer the whole world, another Infinity QX56 SUV was launched in the U.S. to meet the needs of all segments. These days, Infiniti has firmly established itself as a premium car outside the U.S. and is sold in the same market as Nissan. Since 2007, the company is officially represented in Russia, as well as in Europe, South Korea, China, Taiwan and the Middle East.

In 2011 the company signed a contract with the champion Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing, and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel took the position of Director of Development of the company. During the cooperation period, the company's first 'charged' sedan, the Q50 Eau Rouge, named after the famous 'Red Water' curve at the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps circuit was presented. The owners of the track even prepared a lawsuit against the company with a claim for copyright, but the release of the car had to be postponed. After Vettel went to the Ferrari team, he was forced to leave his post, and the production of the car refused. A pity, it was an interesting sedan. Do not forget to use Infiniti VIN decoder in order to avoid potential problems when buying a used car.