Infiniti J30: the rounded four-door coupe

The Infiniti J30 went into production on 7 April 1992 as a 1993 model, replacing the M30 coupe. It was a mid-size executive sedan with unusually rounded styling, a small cabin and a 3.0-litre V6 shared with the Nissan 300ZX; in Japan the same car was sold as the Nissan Leopard J. Ferie.

Infiniti J30 at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Infiniti J30.

History of the Infiniti J30

Design

The J30 was designed at Nissan Design International in La Jolla, California, under president Jerry Hirshberg and exterior designer Doug Wilson, in 1988–1989. Hirshberg called it “the first car in what we see as a trend toward breaking away from the long tyranny of the wedge”, and the design was frozen in 1989. Its rounded shape resembled the contemporary Nissan Altima/Bluebird U13, also styled at NDI at about the same time. Reviews were divided: the Los Angeles Times likened the car to “a 1961 Jaguar Mark X that melted”, while a later retrospective dismissed the rear as “massively round”. A 1994 promotional video called it a “personal luxury sedan” in an attempt to define it as a four-door coupe.

Interior and equipment

The interior was largely designed with help from Poltrona Frau of Italy, which had also worked on the Q45. Standard equipment was long: leather, bronze-tinted glass, digital climate control, burlwood trim around the climate controls, the Bose audio module and the front ashtray, a power metal sunroof, dual eight-way power heated seats, dual airbags, variable speed-sensitive power steering and three-channel anti-lock brakes with ventilated discs front and rear. The cabin was the car’s weakness: despite mid-size exterior dimensions, key interior measurements were smaller than those of a Nissan Sentra because of the sloping roof and a shrunken boot.

Mechanical

Power came from the naturally aspirated 3.0-litre VG30DE V6 shared with the 300ZX (Z32), producing 210 hp and 260 N·m in the J30. The car weighed about 1,600 kg, some 140 kg more than the 300ZX, and valve timing was retarded slightly for smoother shifts. As tested in 1992 it reached 128 mph and accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in about 9 seconds, and its fuel consumption was close to that of the larger Q45. The chassis was the Y32, shared with the Nissan Cedric, Cima and Gloria, with MacPherson struts at the front, a multi-link rear, a viscous limited-slip differential and ventilated discs all round; the Japanese Leopard J. Ferie was offered with the VG30DE as the Type L and a VH41DE V8 as the Type X, always with a four-speed automatic.

Design and features

• Rounded four-door coupe styling: a deliberate break from wedge shapes, designed in California in 1988–1989.
• Poltrona Frau interior: the Italian upholsterer helped design the cabin, as it had done for the Q45.
• VG30DE V6: the 3.0-litre engine from the Nissan 300ZX, detuned to 210 hp for smoother running.
• J30t touring model: rear spoiler, firmer suspension, BBS-style alloy wheels and Nissan Super HICAS four-wheel steering, offered in 1993 and 1994.

Infiniti J30 versions

• J30: the standard car from 1992.
• J30t: touring version with spoiler, firmer suspension and Super HICAS in 1993–1994.
• Nissan Leopard J. Ferie Type L: the Japanese version with the VG30DE V6.
• Nissan Leopard J. Ferie Type X: the Japanese version with the VH41DE V8.

The J30 replaced the M30 coupe; the M badge later returned on the M45. It sat between the G20 and the Q45, and more cars are in the Infiniti collection.

Video: 1994 Infiniti J30 Start Up, Quick Tour, & Rev With Exhaust View – 41K

Video by Intechdude300 on YouTube.

Sources

• Infiniti J30, English Wikipedia: design, interior, engine, chassis, J30t