Infiniti of Manhattan

 Current Program Expands for 2012 Formula One Season -

Infiniti today announced it will expand its partnership with the Red Bull Racing Formula One team for the 2012 season. The announcement, made at the Korean Grand Prix, follows the win last weekend in Japan by Red Bull Racing driver and Infiniti global ambassador, Sebastian Vettel, of his second world drivers championship.

From 2012, Infiniti will feature more prominent branding on the Red Bull Racing F1 cars, with enhanced logos on the side of the chassis and cockpit top of the next generation car. The Infiniti name and logo will also be expanded to new areas on the drivers' overalls and team equipment. In addition, Infiniti and Red Bull Racing will increase the global and market leverage of their partnership through more marketing and media activities throughout the year.

Speaking at the Korean Grand Prix, Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Company, said: "When we announced the partnership back in March, our single objective was to boost global brand awareness for Infiniti. In just seven months, the results have exceeded even our most ambitious targets, leading to our becoming the most highly exposed automotive brand in Formula One this season. As we look ahead to the second year of our partnership with Red Bull Racing, we are now extending into exciting new areas of technical and product collaboration."

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner added: "In the short time we have been involved with Infiniti it has become clear that the closer we work together the more performance advantages can be gained by both sides. It has been a phenomenally successful first season to date, and deepening our partnership further provides us even more scope to share knowledge and expertise, leading to mutual benefits on the track and the road."

This accelerated program, just seven months after the partnership was announced, further solidifies Infiniti's shared vision with Red Bull Racing, with work streams already in place to develop the partnership into a technical collaboration. Infiniti will also continue to build on its personal agreement with Sebastian Vettel, who has already worked on several projects with the company including the launch of the Infiniti FX Sebastian Vettel version at the Frankfurt auto show in September.

• In a partnership with the designboom online art magazine, Infiniti Digital Art Competition winners' work will be shown in an international exhibition: a museum-without-walls.
• Infiniti inspires a search for new talent and starts a creative conversation with global customers.
• Distinctions between art, technology, media, commerce and culture are creatively blurred as interactivity becomes reality.
• Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer of Red Bull Racing and a judge of the Competition, says of design in general: "The limits are not yet established."

"What is art?" This is a question which never changes, but the answer to it does. Voltaire said it is the "business of art to improve on nature" and Infiniti, the luxury performance automotive brand from Japan, believes it is the business of art to test limits, exploiting technology to the full. New mechanical technologies changed completely the value and meaning of images and newer digital technologies, and the promise to change and enhance the value and meaning even more. In essence, art is about things seen and remembered, and about things imagined and interpreted. Even more so with digital art.

Digital technology has transformed old art forms and is creating new digital art ones including music, holograms, 3-D mapping, interactive installations, and virtual reality. But the rules of digital art have not yet been written and as soon as they are written, they will be broken and re-defined. Digital art is therefore developing a life and indiscipline of its own and as the art collector Charles Saatchi said, if he knew what he was looking for, it would not be worth the search. The four judges of the Infiniti Digital Art Competition agree.

THE INFINITI PROPOSITION
Infiniti takes its role as curator of digital art very seriously. Traditional Japanese culture attributes special value to abstract ideas and to aesthetic sophistication. At the same time, contemporary luxury products must acknowledge the demanding customer's appetite for ever more extreme experiences of quality. For Infiniti, curating a Digital Art Competition is a research project designed to test the limits of creative possibility: re-defining art and re-defining luxury are creative expeditions which cover the same ground. The Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, Jnr. once dismissed the sponsorship of opera, ballet and theatre when he stated: "Industry does not need to buy culture, because industry is culture". Luxury brands have often been slow to realise digital possibilities?..until now. As an Infiniti Digital Art Competition judge, Adrian Newey, says: "Successful design must include the maximum amount of development potential." That is what Digital Art offers Infiniti, an exciting journey where the destination cannot yet be imagined.

INTERACTIVITY BECOMES REALITY
The Infiniti Digital Art Competition will both create new audiences and strengthen existing relationships with well-informed taste-makers. Infiniti believes that its bargain with customers should not be a passive one, but a continuing exchange of ideas. The Digital Art Competition helps realise this by giving ideas the space, time and air they need to develop all over the world. Now, a new definition of art becomes a new definition of corporate communications.

Yeoh Guan Yong of Shanghai's Super Nature Design, one of the Infiniti Digital Art Competition judges, says: "Art is about finding individual voices and searching one's own heart and soul. It is also about unique self expression. It is so great that Infiniti is discovering new talents in the digital art field. Infiniti's partnership with designboom is ideal to search for hidden flair. It is important for artists to explore innovative dimensions in art and express very imaginative ideas. I am looking forward to seeing the creativity of artists which encompasses fantastic stories within their digital art. I hope 'Nature' can be part of the inspiration for artists to explore and be inspired."

Advanced technology: Where will it end? As Adrian Newey says: "The limits are not yet established".

To enter the competition and to view terms and conditions, visit www.designboom.com/infiniti or www.infiniti.eu.

About Infiniti
Infiniti comes from Japan. Its line-up of performance sedans, coupés, convertibles, SUVs and crossovers is now being launched across the globe through a dedicated network of Infiniti Centres or dealerships which share a commitment to individualised and exceptional customer service. For more information, see Infiniti.com

Press information, Photographs and videos are available from www.infinitipress.eu. No password is required.

Amel Boubaaya, Lifestyle
M: +41 79 399 83 19
E: a.boubaaya@infiniti.ch

Wayne Bruce, Communications Director - Europe
M: +44 7768 802176
E: wayne.bruce@infiniti.eu

Simon Wittenberg, Infiniti Lifestyle Communications Agency
T: +44 207 491 9934
E: simon@sidhuandsimon.com


About Designboom
The world's first web-based art, architecture and design magazine, designboom publishes key contemporary issues and critiques of all aspects of art, architecture and design through the organisation of design exhibitions and collaboration with leading companies on the sponsorship of international design competitions. Designboom encourages a continuing dialogue between creative professionals, industry and society.

PR contact:
Jenny Filippetti
E: jenny@designboom.com

The World Champion and Infiniti Global Brand Ambassador looks ahead to Red Bull Racing's home race, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone

INFINITI LUXEMBOURG, AT THE CROSSROADS OF EUROPE

• The 45th European Infiniti Centre will be inaugurated in October in Luxembourg.
• The Infiniti range is now available for customer test drives and sales.
• The premium car market share in Luxembourg is as high as 25 percent of overall 50,000 annual sales.
• The showroom of Infiniti Centre Luxembourg benefits from one of the busiest avenues in the Grand Duchy, only a 10-minute drive from the capital.
• An elegant architecture and a "Lounge-Gallery" interior common to all Infiniti Centres in Europe
• A tailor-made atmosphere for an exceptional model range: G37 sedan - Coupe - Cabrio, EX and FX Crossovers, and M luxury sedan including M35h Hybrid version.
  

Infiniti, the premium brand from Nissan Group, develops further in Europe with a new outlet in Luxembourg. The premium automotive market (12,000 new cars) has strong potential in the Grand Duchy, a key location for a new brand wishing to operate in the luxury car landscape between France, Germany and Belgium.

The Luxembourg Infiniti Centre is located at 535, route de Thionville in Alzingen, on the main avenue leading directly from Metz to the capital of the Grand Duchy. It has easy access from the city centre.

Bailly-Lentz Group, the official representatives of Infiniti in Luxembourg, already distribute the Nissan brand. Construction of the Infiniti Centre will be completed in September and official opening is planned for October. The Infiniti sales team already welcomes customers, providing test drives and immediate deliveries of models.

The 450 m2 showroom will be supported by Infiniti adjoining mechanical workshop and body shop. The sales team is managed by Patrick Carmier, reporting to shareholders Stéphane Bailly & Patrick Lahr. First full-year sales are expected to exceed one hundred cars.

The Centre reinforces the brand's positioning following the opening of Infiniti centres in Paris, Brussels and Antwerp. It is in keeping with other European Centres with its large windows and modern, luxurious interior. Designed according to the Infiniti Retail Environment Design Initiative (IREDI), the sales area has been thought out in the aim of creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Customers entering the Luxembourg Centre will be able to appreciate Infiniti's lineup: Infiniti G sedan, coupe and convertible; Infiniti M luxury sedan; EX coupe crossover; FX, the brand's iconic performance crossover - as well as the all-new 3-litre V6 diesel engines. And also the all-new star of the brand, the luxury M sedan with the M35h's groundbreaking hybrid powertrain.

The experience of purchasing a vehicle has been redefined by a concept which constitutes the "DNA" of the brand: the "Total Ownership Experience", which recognises and values the customer. This is the promise that purchasing an Infiniti will always be a stress-free experience in a modern, welcoming environment, combining skills with expertise to make of such a car an exciting, rewarding and hassle-free experience in daily use.

Everything has been worked out perfectly for customers to move in this elegant, modern environment similar to the prestigious business hotels they often stay in around the world in the week's time.

A huge HD screen, known as i-View, is available to customers to help in their selection of model and equipment; with a 3D representation of the cars they can visualize the interior trim, colour and wheel variants before making their final choice. Additionally, the Welcome Lounge provides a Wifi access to fulfill customers' wishes.

Stéphane Bailly and Patrick Lahr, Infiniti distributors in Luxembourg and Guillaume Pelletreau, Infiniti Sales Director Europe, are very enthusiastic about the development of the brand and comment:

- The first foundation stone is the development of the Infiniti retail network, with 78 Centres targeted by 2013. Luxembourg is the 45th Infiniti Centre to open in Europe since October 2008.

- The second stone is the introduction of new EX and FX diesel models and M fitted with the V6 Diesel. And also the first hybrid model in the range with the M35h, resulting from the Alliance's new clean technology.


written by Infiniti/Nissan News published by Morgan Buonaiuto

Infiniti, known worldwide for its high horsepower performance luxury vehicles, yields the spotlight this weekend for a display of horsepower of another kind - polo ponies - as the presenting sponsor of Chukkers for Charity's "Hot & Cool in Havana" charity polo match and classic car show. Among those taking the field at Franklin's Riverview Farm will be Nic Roldan, the top-ranked professional polo player in the United States.

Infiniti will provide an on-site vehicle display featuring the 2011 Infiniti G Convertible and Infiniti QX full-size luxury SUV, as well as sending live Twitter and Facebook posts of all the exciting polo action.

Since its inaugural match in 1996, Chukkers for Charity has grown into Tennessee's premier polo event. It serves as an important fundraiser benefiting Saddle Up!, Middle Tennessee's oldest and largest therapeutic riding program for children ages 4 - 18 with disabilities, and the Rochelle Center, a non-profit agency offering outcome-based day support for adults with developmental disabilities.

"Infiniti supports major charity efforts around the globe, but this weekend's beneficiaries and the event are right in our own backyard," said Infiniti Americas Vice President Ben Poore. "We extend our appreciation to the wonderful team at Chukkers for Charity, the participants in the polo matches and classic car show, and all event attendees for helping support these two great organizations, Saddle Up! and the Rochelle Center."


About Infiniti
Infiniti offers a full-line of luxury performance automobiles, including the G Coupe, Sedan and Convertible, M sedan, EX and FX crossovers, and the QX full-size SUV. More information about Infiniti and its Total Ownership Experience® can be found at Infiniti of Manhattan

About the Rochelle Center
Rochelle Center, founded in 1972, is a non-profit agency offering outcome-based day supports for adults with developmental disabilities as they strive to be self-reliant in our community. Meaningful day supports provide continuing personal individualized training in the areas of self-determination, communication, recreation and sensory stimulation in The Developmental Supports Program. The Production Center offers employment opportunities both on and off campus with individual job training and skills as they progress along the continuum to Supported Community Employment and eventual independence.

About Saddle Up!
Saddle Up! celebrates 20 years this year and is middle Tennessee's oldest and largest recreational therapeutic horseback riding program and the only one exclusively serving children and youth with documented disabilities. Founded in the summer of 1990 with lessons one night a week for 10 students, Saddle Up! today operates year-round and serves nearly 190 students annually with more than 4,500 lessons. This is achieved with a dedicated volunteer corps of nearly 300, 7 full-time and 23 part-time staff members, and the "horse staff" of 20 whose power makes the program work.