Infiniti claims place in Guinness Book Of Records

TO Infiniti and beyond… no, not Buzz Lightyear, but the record-breaking M35h.
The latest new model for the European market from Infiniti has been declared the world’s quickest accelerating full hybrid.
Journalist Tim Pollard got behind the wheel for the speed bid, which was made under the auspices of Guinness World Records. The petrol/electric saloon sped over the standing 400m in an average of 13.9031 seconds at the Santa Pod Raceway.
The car taken to Santa Pod was a normal production car. The M35h used its combination of electric motor torque and V6 petrol power to best effect, zipping past the computerised timing equipment at the end of each run at speeds over 100mph.
In a table of fast motors, this puts in on a par with such motoring stars as the 1982 Lamborghini Countach1 and very close to some of the offerings from Ferrari, Aston Martin and Porsche.
And if that wasn’t impressive enough, the M35h emits just 162g/km of CO2 and achieves just over 26mpg on the combined cycle. Now on sale, the M35h costs £1,180 more than the diesel M30d.
“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 point of the exercise, which can be viewed at www.carmagazine.co.uk, was to show that the M35h’s 0-62mph time of 5.5 seconds — itself the fastest for a full hybrid – was just one facet of the car’s performance. The standing 400m (quarter mile), the acceleration test worldwide, is a greater challenge than 0-62mph and offers a better picture of a car’s acceleration.
The M35h’s score of around 13 seconds puts the latest Infiniti among the performance aristocracy — surprising as it is a four-door five-seater with an  emphasis on luxury, comfort and equipment as well as driving pleasure.
Infiniti’s M35h is driven by a potent and high-revving petrol V6 engine and a 68PS (50kW) electric motor, one of the most powerful in production. The power goes to the rear wheels in a two-clutch system that maximises efficiency and performance. The car can run in electric-only mode at speeds up to 74.56 mph.
The record is in line to feature in the 2013 edition of the famous Guinness Book of Records.