Infiniti M35h sets hybrid 1/4-mile Guinness World Record
On Tuesday, August 23, a
lone 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, associate editor of the UK's
Car Magazine, and overseen by Guinness World Records,
the 360-horsepower M35h dashed down the quarter-mile track in 13.9031
seconds (average of all runs). 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."
Lest you think it's only quick for a hybrid, Infiniti points out that,
in the hierarchy of quick vehicles, the M35h's time puts it on a par
with the following performance icons:
1982 Lamborghini Countach S: 13.9 secs
1998 BMW M3: 13.8 secs
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante: 13.6 secs
2007 Porsche 911 Carrera: 13.6 secs
1966 Shelby Cobra: 13.5 secs
1964 Ferrari 250 GTO: 13.5 secs
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. Feel free to read all the details in the press release
after the break.