Infiniti - the luxury nameplate that bears the same relationship to Nissan as Lexus does to Toyota but which is not sold in South Africa - has announced European specifications for the svelte and sexy G37 four-seater convertible.
It has a three-piece folding metal roof which, its maker says, has been designed to look as good with the top up as with it down - and which can go from one to the other in 25sec, either by pressing a button inside the car or, for the more extrovert, from outside by pressing a button on the door handle.
Standard are a 3.7-litre V6 petrol engine for which Infiniti quotes 235kW and claims 0-100 in 6.2sec and an electronically limited 250km/h - and enough bells and whistles to give the German 234* establishment pause for thought.
They include 19" alloy rims with sports brakes, a wind deflector, leather seats, active cornering bi-xenon headlights, LED tail lights, dual-zone aircon with automatic air recirculation, heatable and electrically adjustable front seats, parking sensors, a reversing camera and Nissan's self-healing "scratch shield" paint.
The seven-speaker audio system has an MP3-compatible CD player, a 2GB flash drive, a USB port and Bluetooth phone connection with voice controls.
The G37 Premium model adds a 30Gb, hard-disk drive navigation system with data supplied by Michelin Green Guide - including speed camera locations! - and a 30GB "music box" with storage for about 300CDs.
The Premium's front seats have a memory function linking the driver's seat position to the car's "intelligent" keys and can be cooled as well as heated.
Each front seat also has a pair of "personal" speakers, as part of the 13-speaker Bose sound system, which can filter out background noise and adjust the equalisation settings depending on whether the top is up or down.
About the only option the customer has is between a six-speed manual transmission and a seven-speed, paddle shift auto.
Prices, says Infiniti, will be announced when the G37 goes on sale in Europe in the third quarter of 2009.
*234 = Two-colour propeller, three-pointed star and four rings.