So, you watched Travis Pastrana in his Subaru at the X Games and now you’re convinced that you can get your Mom’s Outback at least six feet off the ground if you were just given a dirt jump and the chance. Well, it’s time to put down your PS3 game controller, turn off MotorStorm, and borrow a helmet. Rallycross is the closest thing you’re probably going to get to the X games without any money or talent.

Rallycross is something YOU can do in your own ride. To learn where, cost, car preparation, adrenaline factor and how to actually win a Rallycross read the rest at Speed Sport Life.

This travesty was commissioned by Infiniti Canada to commemorate Infiniti’s 20th anniversary. Sadly, that’s paint, not a wrap… Via Motor Authority

“Oh my god!”

“Simply stunning!”

“That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!”

You can expect to hear people to say things like that when you tag along with the Essence, Infiniti’s new flagship concept car and 20^th birthday present to itself, on a mini-tour of the U.S. This is the first that many Americans will be seeing of this 592-horsepower car since its debut at the Geneva auto show back in March. Continue reading and view more photos on MotorMavens

I thought this Infiniti looked sharp. More pics after the jump.

This one wasn’t even close. The FX50 AWD absolutely murdered the X6 xDrive35i on CarDomain in this week’s Showroom Showdown. I think it might have had something to do with the Infiniti’s 390 hp V8. Some people were wondering why I didn’t put the FX50 up against the V8 Bimmer. Simple: the V8 Bimmer costs a lot more. Anyway, we’ll try to get back to enthusiast cars next week. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment.

This week it’s the battle of the yuppie crossovers! The Bimmer’s 3.0 liter turbo inline-6 puts out 300 hp while the Infiniti’s 5.0 liter V8 puts out 390 hp. Both vehicles run in the high $50k range. Which would you choose?

Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to show that obscure muscle cars came from all over the world. For 2003 Nissan has decided to fill the $15,000 hole in their line-up between the hot selling G35 and the not-so-hot selling Q45, with a sports sedan retailing near $42,000. Now, the company wasn’t loaded with money at that time, so they found a way to do this one cheap. They took a home market luxury sedan (the Nissan Cedric/Gloria) complete with styling from a couple decades ago. They called it the M45, and it’s the subject of this installment of the Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot. Continue reading after the jump!

The original Infiniti Q45, introduced late in 1989, was a truly unique luxury car, combining styling with Japanese themes, a top-notch chassis, and a powerful 4.5 liter V8. Unfortunately for Nissan, the great majority of luxury car buyers were looking for something more ordinary. The result: Nissan lost buckets of money on the original Q, even after they added a grille to the outside and wood to the inside for the 1994 model year. For the 1997 model year they simply took a Japanese home market luxury sedan and tuned it a bit for American tastes. Japanese home market luxury cars tend to be very conservatively styled, and the second-generation Q45 was no exception. Result: few people were ever even aware this car existed. It generally sold to people who like to think they’ve found a killer deal, as Infiniti threw in some hefty incentives. At least Nissan didn’t lose much this time around, since they didn’t invest nearly as much in the development and tooling of the car. This is the playbook Nissan used for the 2003 M45.

The M45 is a boxy sedan with enough rear overhang to stand in for a 1960s Pontiac Tempest, and it has been a while since proportions like these were ever seen. The sharp edges when combined with the massive 18” alloy wheels makes this this car look tough and distinctive. It’s sort of unintentional retro, and it’s very cool.

The interior has largely been lifted from the Q45. The materials are first rate with “natural wood trim”, high-mounted stereo and climate controls, and a center mounted display (with a larger screen for the optional DVD navigation). There is an optional voice activation for the controls, for the truly lazy driver. Unfortunately, the cassette player is located in its own trendy metallic panel in the center of the dash, while the CD changer is in the glove compartment.

The M45 is equipped with a 340 HP, 4.5L DOHC V8 found in the Q45. Step into the throttle, and the M45 does 0-60 mph in just over 6.0 seconds, and triple digit velocities are not out of the question. Stopping power, with 11.4-inch front/11.5-inch rear vented disc brakes with 4-channel ABS, gives the M45 unparalleled stopping distances. The transmission is a manually shiftable five speed auto.

CarDomain Members Rides

There are at least 58 CarDomain members who have this vintage Infiniti M45 V-8 powered Muscle Car, and you can look at them all here!

Here are some of my favorites though: Val’s M45 from Lawrenceville, GA. Love the rims, and love the photography showing the car through a wire fence. Check it out.

Here’s JT’s M45 from Houston. It looks very menacing with those black rims on a black sedan. Check it out, and leave JT a comment!

How about a Red M45. I hear they are very rare, so here’s Antonio’s M45, located in Sedro Woolley, Washington. It’s all stock, except for the rims. See what you think.

With the huge rear overhang coupled to a relatively short front overhang, powerful engine, and tight interior in a longish body, and with a chassis that prefers to go fast pointed straight, this is a 1960s muscle car reincarnated in its next life. It’s fast, brash, bold, and most of all, rear wheel drive. Is this an Obscure Muscle Car, or a Japanese Home Luxury Sedan dressed as one? Let me know what you think.

No this is not a GT-R with a hybrid engine…but it might be the closest thing we’ll see to it.

Check out the Infiniti Essence, which as Autoblog reports, is “powered by a twin-turbo, direct-injection 3.7-liter V6 and a new electric drive design dubbed “3D Motor”, the Essence yields a combined 592 brake horsepower (434 via internal-combustion, 158 brake horsepower via the lithium-ion backed disc-shaped electric motor).

I think this is a pretty great concept car! I felt it was worth of sharing with you all. It feels to me like a morph of a R35 GT-R and an Aston Martin.

Nissan has formally announced that they are pulling out of the North American International Auto Show, along with their Infiniti brand. They join Ferrari, Porsche, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki in "reducing costs." This leaves more room for the locals (if they pony up for it) and for the upstarts from China that provided us with so much entertainment last year. I’m starting to wonder if we will see one of them on the main floor. Who’s press conference will get crashed this year?

I think Infiniti knocked it out of the park with this one. Like the coupe, it comes with a 325 hp 3.7-liter V6, and either a 6-speed manual or a paddle-shift 7-speed auto. See more pics and read the press release over at Jalopnik.