While many European luxury automakers remain committed to V-8 engines, and in some cases even V-12s, a top Infiniti executive has revealed that future development of eight-cylinder engines at the Japanese automaker will be coming to an end. The reason, he says, is due to stricter fuel economy and CO2 restrictions, such as America’s own CAFE rules which stipulate a fleet-wide average fuel economy of 54.5 mpg for automakers by 2025.

“I don’t think any car that is on Infiniti drawing boards from here onwards we should expect a V-8 to be included in that plan,” Infiniti global president Johan de Nysschen revealed to Car Sales.

The Infiniti exec explained that powertrains have a much longer life cycle than your average car model, so an engine developed today would still have to be viable in the next 15 years or so. With development of V-8s ceasing then, this means that the next-generation of Infiniti cars are unlikely to offer a V-8 option, so cars like the M56 sedan and QX56 SUV are likely to move to V-6 engines with forced-induction or even hybrid technology for their successors.  

Interestingly, de Nysschen, who was the former chief of Audi’s U.S. division, predicts that development of V-8 engines at automakers back in Germany will also be coming to an end, sooner rather than later.