After several years of selling small volumes of its Altima sedan using Toyota's hybrid drive system, Nissan is finally ready to roll out its first gas-electric model using technology developed in-house. The first model to be so equipped will be the new Fuga sedan, a car sold in North America as the Infiniti M.
Unlike the electronic CVT systems used by Toyota, Ford and General Motors, Nissan has opted to configure its system using a conventional automatic transmission – in this case, a seven-speed unit. The electric drive is provided by a single motor sandwiched between the engine and the transmission. A pair of electronically controlled clutches sit on either side of the motor allowing the engine or the enginemotor combination to be completely de-coupled from the transmission.
According to Nissan, the motor has an output of 50 kW (67 horsepower) and 270 Nm (200 pound-feet) of torque, and the system is able to propel the FugaM electrically at speeds of up 62 mph. The engine is a 3.5-liter version of Nissan's renowned VQ V6 modified to run with an Atkinson cycle for greater efficiency.
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