"I don't think any car that is on Infiniti drawing boards from here onwards we should expect a V8 to be included in that plan," de Nysschen told motoring.com.au. Like Marchionne, de Nysschen believes the upcoming CAFE fuel economy regulations, in addition to strict emissions and efficiency standards in other countries, will simply be too hard to comply with if eight-cylinder motors are used.
De Nysschen, who previously was the head of Audi's U.S. division, believes that German luxury automakers will eventually follow Infiniti's lead and do away with the V8 altogether. The Infiniti chief also issued a grim prediction concerning the future of performance vehicles in general, saying that he expects that the current crop of mega-horsepower vehicles will soon disappear, never to be replaced.
"There will be much focus on fuel consumption and emissions, and horsepower figures are going to come down," de Nysschen said. "The 600 horsepower engines that you see today that are regrettably rare - those are the real top performance cars right now - will become extinct."
Photo by Mark Elias
