On Tuesday a 2012 Infiniti M35h ripped down the UK’s rain-drenched Santa Pod Raceway and sped into the record books as the world’s quickest hybrid vehicle.

Driven by Tim Pollard and overseen by Guinness World Records, the 360hp Infiniti M35h dashed down the quarter-mile track in 13.9031 seconds. The quickest run of the day tripped the clock at 13.8960 seconds. In describing the M35h’s record-setting run, Pollard stated, “At Santa Pod you could feel the instant torque of the electric motor away from standstill – the car just leapt off the line.”

The M35h scoots from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 5.5 seconds and tops out at 155 mph. On the consumption side, the M35h snagged an official EPA rating of 27/32 mpg city/highway, with a combined rating of 29 mpg. Currently, the M35h is North America’s only 350-plus horsepower, 30-plus mpg highway vehicle.

PRESS RELEASE

ROLLE, Switzerland (20 September 2011) – Infiniti’s latest new model for Europe, the M35h, has sped into the record books as the world’s fastest accelerating full hybrid. Driven by journalist Tim Pollard and overseen by Guinness World Records®, the 364PS petrol/electric sedan covered the standing 400m (quarter mile) in 13.9031 seconds (average of all runs).

The test car, a standard production model, set the record on Tuesday 23 August 2011 at the UK’s Santa Pod Raceway, home of the FIA European Drag Racing Championships. From a standing start, the M35h harnessed its combination of electric motor torque from 0rpm and V6 power at high revs to impressive effect, the car passing the computerised timing equipment at the end of each run at speeds in excess of 160km/h (100mph).

In the hierarchy of fast cars, the time puts it on a par with performance heroes like the 1982 Lamborghini Countach1 and within a few tenths of some Porsches, Ferraris and Aston Martins.

The result is all the more remarkable because the Infiniti M35h emits just 162g/km of CO2 and, on the combined cycle, sips fuel at the rate of 7.0 litres of fuel per 100km (40.4mpg). Now on sale across Europe, the M35h is highly competitively priced at a margin over the equivalent diesel M30d of just €1500 (depending on market).

“The Infiniti M35h proves that hybrids can be fast as well as frugal,” said Tim Pollard, associate editor of the UK’s CAR Magazine. “At Santa Pod you could feel the instant torque of the electric motor away from standstill – the car just leapt off the line. I did try changing gear manually, but it was fastest left in automatic. That was when we achieved the fastest single run of 13.8960 seconds.

“But what impressed most was the M’s duality of purpose: it might be quick, but it’s also comfy and very easy to drive. It felt like it could do these runs all week long.”

The record run, in the presence of an adjudicator from Guinness World Records®, was the idea of Infiniti’s Communications department to correspond with the start of sales of the innovative new hybrid. They had no trouble enticing Tim into the driving seat. The point behind the exercise which can be watched at www.carmagazine.co.uk was to show that the M35h’s 0-100km/h (62mph) time of 5.5 seconds – itself the fastest time listed for a full hybrid – was just one facet of the car’s overall Inspired Performance. The standing 400m (quarter mile), an iconic acceleration test the world over, is a more demanding challenge than 0-100km/h and offers a more complete picture of a car’s acceleration.

The M35h’s result in the 13-second area puts the latest Infiniti among the performance aristocracy – a fact which may surprise when it is considered that the car is a near 5m-long four-door five-seater with as much of an emphasis on luxury, comfort and equipment as driving pleasure.

With its famous curves – themselves the focus of Infiniti’s new television campaign – providing the M’s signature muscular stance, the M35h is powered by a potent and high-revving petrol V6 engine complemented by a 68PS (50kW) electric motor, one of the most powerful in production. The first application of new-generation Infiniti Direct Response Hybrid technology, the total system power output of 364PS (268kW) goes to the rear wheels in a two-clutch system that maximises both performance and efficiency while allowing the car to run in electric-only mode at speeds as high as 120km/h.

Guinness World Records® (GWR) was at Santa Pod to witness the record attempt and ensure Infiniti’s new benchmark for full hybrids takes its place among the record-breakers on the GWR website. The M35h’s Inspired Performance is also in line to feature in the 2013 edition of the famous Guinness Book of Records.

The all-new Infiniti M range, developed to take on cars like the BMW 5-series and Jaguar XF in the demanding European marketplace, is currently the only sedan in its class in Europe to be available in petrol, diesel and hybrid forms.

The Infiniti M35h and the hybrid system it uses form a key part of Infiniti’s plan to boost sales in Europe with a goal to reach 10% of the luxury sector by 2016.

The new 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid will go on sale firm’s retailers on March 16, 2011, with a base price of $53,700, or $7,000 more than the regular M37 that’s powered by a 330HP 3.7-liter V6, the company announced. Infiniti’s first mass produced hybrid model pairs a 306HP 3.5-liter V6 engine to a 50 kW [68HP] electric motor for a combined net output of 360HP and an estimated fuel economy of 27 mpg City, 32 mpg Highway, and 29 mpg combined.

The rear-wheel drive Infiniti M Hybrid is offered in a single trim model that comes equipped with leather-appointed seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, Active Noise Control, Infiniti Intelligent Key with Push Button Ignition, XM Satellite Radio, Bluetooth Hands-free Phone System and power sliding glass tinted moonroof plus the Blind Spot Intervention system, Active Trace Control, and Infiniti Hard Drive Navigation System, as standard.

Infiniti has released specs for the European market version of its M35h hybrid sedan. Boasting an impressive drag coefficient of just 0.26, the Japanese maker’s first hybrid model weighs less than its diesel-powered M30d sibling and returns 6.9 lt/100 km on the combined cycle. However, customers will have to make do with a smaller boot, measuring just 350 liters.

The hybrid sedan’s powertrain comprises a 306HP 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine mated to a dual-clutch transmission and a 68HP electric motor. The combined output is 364HP, good enough to accelerate the 1.830 kg sedan from standstill to 100 km/h in just 5.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 250 km/h.

In electric-only mode, the M35h is capable of reaching speeds up to 80 km/h (50 mph, with Infiniti stating that in real-world testing, the car can be driven in this mode for as much as 50% of the time on mixed routes. To further improve the powertrain’s efficiency, the M35h also comes with regenerative brakes.

Infiniti said European-wide pricing will be announced before the 2011 Geneva Motor Show in early March.

Automaker is generally tightlipped about specific product plans, but Nissan already has shown prototypes of their hybrid models.

Nissan has fallen behind Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda in developing its own hybrids but has made no secret of its ambitions to play aggressive catchup.

Nissan is developing a different kind of battery for hybrids from those used by Toyota and Honda. Nissan officials say their battery is better at providing quicker and more power.

Nissan officials have said the nation’s third-biggest automaker is working on a bigger hybrid system than Toyota’s popular Prius, the global top-seller among hybrids, and will make hybrid sports cars and luxury models.

Among luxury cars, Toyota already offers various Lexus hybrids, while German automakers Daimler AG and BMW AG are planning hybrids.

Hybrids deliver better mileage and reduce global warming gas emissions, compared with ordinary cars, because hybrids switch between a gasoline engine and an electric motor to deliver gas-sipping efficiency.