While it wasn’t the family’s flagship, the 2003 Infiniti M45 was like a muscle car from the ’60s brought back to life with modern technologies inside.
The car’s development took just two years, and it was more of a Nissan Gloria with different badges. But since the Gloria was not available on the North-American soil, it was just like a brand new car. Nissan built it to match some of the finest German and American V8 sedans on the market, but with more focus on the driver than the passengers.

Its look, with flowing lines and big, squared, headlights, was imposing. The greenhouse design was ended into a sloped rear windscreen, somehow like the Acura Legend. But the curved edges and thin C-pillars and the frameless doors made the car looks meaner than a regular, luxury sedan. In the back, the taillights were adapted for the U.S. market and were not extended over the trunk lid.

Inside, the M45 looked like an executive sedan, with a combination of leather upholstery and wood trim on the door panels. A simple, four-dial layout for the instrument cluster and two small LCD inside the tachometer and speedometer offered all the car’s information. In the glove compartment, the manufacturer installed the cartridge for the Bose CD-changer.

Infiniti installed only one engine option for the M45, and that was a 4.5-liter V8 unit that sent 340 hp to the rear wheels. Since the car was light for its class, it could hit the 60 mph (97 kph) barrier in less than 6 seconds.