A guy in a blue Ford pick up cranes his neck as he slows to take a look while I pumped gas into the sleek convertible. “What year is that?” he shouts. “Man, that’s a nice lookin’ car.”

Such scenes become commonplace when you’re tooling around town in the 2010 Infiniti G37 convertible. This is a car for people who like to get noticed, but it’s also a car for drivers who appreciate a luxury sport coupe with sports car handling and impeccably solid fit and finish.

The G37 has to bring its “A” game because it plays on a pretty rarefied field with competition including the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4, but it succeeds through its meshing of irresistible exterior styling, fantastic road performance, a smooth operating retractable hard top and a deliciously inviting cabin.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more beautiful convertible than the G37. With smooth, flowing lines and an elegant, yet somewhat aggressive stance, the G37 looks equally good with the top up or down.

The 328-hp V6, mated to a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission makes the G37 an absolute pleasure to drive. The transmission and clutch interplay is seamless, resulting in precise, laser-like shifts that allow you to extract every ounce of performance. The Infiniti is packed with plenty of torque (267 lb. ft), but it also pulls very strongly in fifth and sixth gears, making it a great highway cruiser despite its diminutive size. I’m convinced that driving the G37 with an automatic transmission would be heresy. The sport brakes, with 4- piston front and 2-piston rear calipers, are top notch, and the sweet, burbling engine note completes the package.

Infiniti is known for its impossibly tight build quality and the G37 is no exception. The hard top retracts and raises in about 20 seconds and fits snuggly into the A pillars. Even at highway speeds, wind noise is surprisingly minimal, owing to the rather severe rake of the windshield–watch your head getting into or out of the car–and the detachable rear windscreen. But the hard top and its affiliated mechanisms add about 450 pounds to the 4,099 curb weight, which, no doubt, contributes to the rather pedestrian 16/24 fuel mileage estimates.

The interior of the G37, featuring soft textured black leather and “silk Obi-finish” aluminum trim all around, provides a cabin as comfortable as any in the class. Nice touches include the headrest-mounted speakers, rear view monitor, heated front seats and an easy-tooperate navigation system with seven-inch color display.

Of course, the G37 isn’t perfect. I pity anyone relegated to sitting in the tiny rear seats, and with the top up, the miniscule rear window cuts visibility dramatically. Cargo space is virtually nil with the hard top stowed in the trunk, and the as-tested sticker just north of 50 grand may be a little steep, but that’s about it for the negatives. The G37 is serious fun wrapped in a luxury shell.