NanoFlowcell has revealed a revised Quantino concept, claimed to represent the first production-ready low-voltage electric vehicle.

The accompanying image of a yellow Quantino does not look much different from the blue concept that was revealed early last year, aside from a few tweaks to the front fascia. The company promises the new Geneva-bound build will be presented in a “near standard” configuration.

NanoFlowcell’s unique powertrain employs oppositely-charged electrolyte solutions and fuel-cell stacks rather than traditional batteries. The system is claimed to provide the Quantino with 621 miles between charges. Despite running at low voltage, the tech is said to provide enough power to reach 124 mph.

“Rated at just 48 volts and with an output of [107 horsepower] split between four electric motors, the all-wheel drive Quantino represents a significant improvement on the one-fill, one-charge range achievable with electric vehicles,” the company notes.

The Quantino is said to be ‘essentially’ ready for a small-batch production run. The car will not begin rolling off the assembly line until the company completes a feasibility study later this year, however.

Live images by Ronan Glon.

General Motors has issued a small-batch recall for the 2016 Buick Regal to fix a problem with the steering system.

The company warns that the electric power-steering system is prone to failure, causing the vehicle to lose power-steering assist.

“If power-steering assist is lost, steering control can still be maintained but will require increased steering effort, particularly at lower speeds, which could increase the risk of a crash,” the recall documents add.

Additional details remain unclear, though the problem is serious enough to require complete replacement of the entire electric belt-drive rack and pinion steering gear assembly.

The issue affects just 74 units produced from late August 2015 through early February this year.

Aston Martin’s forthcoming DB11 appears to have surfaced in yet another leak, providing an early glimpse days ahead of its official Geneva debut.

The images, posted by Carscoops, are consistent with the company’s latest teaser and several previous leaks.

The DB11 features an evolutionary shift from the DB9, taking inspiration from the DB10 and, to a lesser extent, the high-riding DBX concept. Its fastback profile has been reshaped, introducing a unique floating roof. The front and rear ends both adopt a more aggressive styling, without departing from the latest DB-series design language.

The sports coupe is expected to introduce a new twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12 engine with over 600 horsepower. A twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, borrowed from the Mercedes-AMG GT and C63, is said to serve as a downsized alternative for later variants.

Additional details will be announced later this week at the Geneva Motor Show.

Just a few years ago, entry to the 400 horsepower club was relegated to a handful of exotics. Now, Infiniti will hand you the keys to its new Q50 Red Sport 400 in exchange for around $50,000, and you can haul around a family in luxurious comfort while blowing the doors off of anything in its segment in a straight-line race.

Taking the place of last year’s 3.7-liter V6, an almost entirely new 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 headlines a host of modest changes that add up to a much improved 2016 Q50 sedan.

More power, more turbos
Visually, the Q50 holds the line for 2016 aside from badging denoting its new powertrains. The big changes aren’t visible at first glance, but they’ve created an entirely different Q50.

The 3.7 is a goner, replaced by a quartet of options. Anchoring the lineup is a new base model powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder co-developed with Mercedes-Benz. In the Q50, it’s rated at 208 horsepower and 258 lb-ft. of torque, figures that will help it compete favorably against the 180-pony BMW 320i. From there, the lineup jumps to a carryover Q50 Hybrid with 360 net horsepower.

But the real excitement begins with what Infiniti expects to be its volume model: A 300 horsepower, 295 lb-ft. of torque variant of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 available in either standard or Sport trims.

Topping the line is the model we drove, a 400 horse, 350 lb-ft. of torque version made possible by more boost – 14.7 psi versus 8.7 psi – going to the same turbocharger. Christened the Q50 Red Sport 400, it significantly ups the bar for performance in the compact luxury sedan segment.

The new engine, which Infiniti parent Nissan calls the VR series (its predecessor was the highly-lauded VQ), boasts electronic variable valve timing, gasoline direct injection, and an integrated exhaust manifold. All these items add up to a 40 lbs. weight reduction despite the extra power on board.

To help make the most of that grunt, the Q50′s steering systems have been revised. A new rack-based electric power steering comes standard, while the company’s world-first Direct Adaptive Steering, a steer-by-wire system with no mechanical connection between the front wheels and the steering wheel, was overhauled with new software for a more natural feel. A new two-mode Dynamic Digital Suspension offers standard and sport settings for the shock absorbers to lessen lean in corners.

Regardless of what’s under the hood, all Q50s will be offered in standard RWD or optional AWD, the former of which includes staggered Dunlop SP Sport Maxx summer tires on the Red Sport 400.

Forget about IPL, Infiniti’s short-lived performance division. Denoted by a red S festooned to the Q50′s rear bumper, the Red Sport nomenclature debuts here but may come to other Infinitis in the future. Think BMW M Sport, a trim that bridges the gap between the more luxury-oriented models and those tuned for track use. Infiniti says it doesn’t plan to offer more zoom in the Q50 than the Red Sport, but customer demand could change that.

Here, Red Sport adds unique 19-inch wheels and a special exhaust, and it’s the only way you can buy a Q50 with the 400 horsepower tune. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but Infiniti estimates that you’ll be able to get a nicely-optioned Red Sport 400 for around $50,000. That means it should undercut the significantly less powerful BMW 340i M Sport.

A tale of two steering wheels
We had the opportunity to put the updated Q50 through its paces on the gently winding roads of the Texas Hill Country. Simply put, 400 horsepower in a car tipping the scales at about 3,850 lbs. is ferociously quick. Stomp on the skinny pedal and it’s easy to get the rear end loose even as the standard seven-speed automatic gearbox shifts up into second gear. If anything, we think a set of grippier tires might be in order.

Our drive was exclusively in the RWD variant, but Infiniti says that nearly half of all Q50s will be ordered with AWD. Interestingly, the brand’s engineers told us that they sought a roughly 54/46 front/rear weight balance with RWD since they wanted to account for weight transfer during acceleration.

The twin turbos spool up with only a distant, muted growl, and once the torque peaks at a low 1,600 rpm, it’s go time. Careful throttle management means that the Q50 won’t snap heads, but there’s no denying that this is a stout motor. We can only imagine how well it would perform in a lighter coupe like, say, a Nissan 370Z. Hint, hint.

Suspension-wise, the Q50 Red Sport 400 differs from the 300-pony Q50 Sport by adding wider alloy wheels wrapped in the aforementioned slip-happy Dunlop rubber. Left in standard Dynamic Digital Suspension mode, the Q50 is planted and reasonably compliant. Switching to sport mode adds a degree of edginess and slightly reduces lean in corners.

It’s steering that makes a sports car, rather than a sporty car, and in that regard the Q50 comes in two flavors: The standard electric setup is a little light and definitely lacking in road feel, but it is sufficiently precise. Opting for the Direct Adaptive Steering package offers a glimpse into the future – it’s a precursor to a fully autonomous setup since it could let the car’s computers have full control.

Autonomous driving isn’t here yet, so for now Infiniti has revamped the system’s software. Our drive was brief, but it indicated a significantly less artificial feel to the tiller than before, although the sensation remains distant, if less video game-like than before.

Steering aside, the Q50 is a capable and composed sedan when pushed, even on an autocross-style track, where its firm underpinnings bely its heft.

Neither steering setup provides the sort of connected feel that BMW has mostly brought back with the new-for-2016 340i, however, meaning the Q50 Red Sport 400 remains more a study in technology than a truly cohesive, blood-pumping sports sedan.

Leftlane’s bottom line
There are plenty of compelling reasons – 400 of them, actually – why the Q50 just became way more intriguing, even if emotional engagement with the driver really isn’t one of them.

2016 Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 base price, TBA.

Photos by Andrew Ganz.

Wasting no time, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has already kicked off production for the Maserati Levante.

Due for a formal unveiling this week at the Geneva Motor Show, the Levante represents the first SUV in Maserati’s century-long history. The production model comes more than a decade after the brand unveiled the Kubang concept.

The first examples have begun rolling off the assembly line at FCA’s Mirafiori factory in Turin, Italy. The underutilized plant has also been used to produce the Fiat Punto and Alfa Romeo MiTo.

Reports surrounding the 2011 concept suggested the SUV would be built upon the Jeep Grand Cherokee platform and built in Detroit, however Maserati instead opted to adapt the Ghibli and Quattroporte chassis architecture for the high-riding model. It is said to be produced from “100 percent Maserati parts.”

The SUV will play an important role in Maserati’s plan to achieve 75,000 annual sales by 2018. The figure represents 15,000 additional units in just four years. The brand had achieved a stratospheric climb of 137 percent in the US between 2013 and 2014, though sales receded with nearly a 10-percent drop in 2015.

The Levante will arrive in showrooms throughout Europe this spring, before heading to other markets later in the year. The company has not confirmed US launch plans, despite America’s growing appetite for SUVs.

Citroën is preparing to introduce a new flagship that will be built and sold exclusively in China.

Aimed at the Buick Lacrosse, the sedan will revive the C6 nameplate last used on a large, luxurious range-topping model that was given the ax in 2012. Developed jointly by Citroën and Chinese industrial partner Dongfeng Motors, the upcoming C6 will ride on the same modular EMP2 platform as the Golf-fighting Peugeot 308 and the C4 Picasso minivan. An official teaser sketch suggests it will break all ties with both the last-generation C6, whose design was inspired by classic Citroën sedans like the DS and the CX, and with current members of the Citroën lineup.

PSA Peugeot-Citroën no longer has a six-cylinder engine in its stable, so the C6 will exclusively be offered with four-cylinder mills. It likely won’t get its predecessor’s hydraulic suspension, either, because the Paris-based car maker is in the process of phasing it out, and its replacement is still a few years away from hitting showrooms.

WorldCarFans believes Citroën will show the C6 as a thinly-veiled concept at the Beijing Auto Show that will open its doors in late April. Series production will kick off shortly after, and sales will begin before the end of the year. At the time of writing, Citroën is not planning on selling the C6 outside of China.

Fiat has released a video, inspired by the 1969 film The Italian Job, that announces new special-edition Abarth 595 and teases the new Abarth 124.

The original Italian Job is perhaps best known for an extended (and quite overrated) chase sequence in which a trio of Minis dodge the polizia through the streets of Turin after Michael Caine and his band of merry thieves pull off a big heist in the famed Italian city. In a teaser video released Thursday titled “The Real Italian Job: The Full Story,” the tables are turned when it is three Fiat 500-based Abarth 595s that escape Turin — where the Abarth offices are, incidentally — and invade London.

Part of its purpose is to introduce a new Tricolore package for the 595. Available only on models in red, white or dark blue, the limited edition appearance package adds titanium-finish 17-inch wheels, red brake calipers, black mirror caps, an exclusive steering wheel, and racing stripes. No performance improvements are included, and the standard 1.4-liter turbo four with 140 horsepower and 152 pound-feet of torque is the sole engine choice. Tricolore edition 595s will be limited to 300 for the UK market.

The real money shot of the video, however, is a brief teaser picture of what is likely the Abarth 124, “stolen” from the Abarth factory. It’s all a bit hokey and “The Real Italian Job: The Full Story,” doesn’t really tell the full story. Instead, it hints at the 124 with a diecast model of an old 124, and offers only the briefest of glimpses. No further details were given. Watch the video below.

The 2017 Acura NSX configurator may have just launched this week, but already rumors are circulating about a higher-performance version, reportedly a possible Type R.

The NSX already boasts 573 horsepower and 476 lb-ft of torque thanks to a twin-turbo V6 and no less than three electric motors, but Paul Eisenstein of The Detroit Bureau reports that Acura engineers are looking for ways to “bump power and performance up another notch or two.”

Engineers believe that the 3.5-liter V6 is “far from nearing the limits of its design,” with a power-to-displacement ratio of “just” 143 per liter. Improvements to the turbochargers may be part of the strategy to draw more power from the engine. More than 15 years ago, Honda achieved the highest power-to-displacement ratio of any naturally aspirated production car when it introduced the 240-horsepower, 2.0-liter S2000 sports car.

Interestingly, the most immediate methods of bumping power may not come from traditional means such as tweaking turbos. Instead, engineers, believe the electric half of the hybrid powertrain holds just as much tuning potential. A larger battery pack, unspecified upgrades to the electrical system, and changes to the chemistry of the batteries themselves that improve energy “flow” are all potential wells of more power.

As for the Type R, there is no official confirmation of such a program. In the past, Honda has only bestowed the Type R name to the purest of lightweight performance cars. At 3,803 pounds, the NSX is already on the heavy side. A true Type R would have to dramatically reduce that mass, and the elimination of power seats, sound insulation material and other electronic amenities would have to take place.

In any case, it sounds as if there are already several ways to improve performance in coming iterations before a hard core Type R needs to debut.