PEBBLE BEACH, California — The world got its first official look at the 2009 Infiniti G37 convertible on Saturday, as the automaker unveiled a photo of the car at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The G37 convertible, with a three-piece automatic retractable hardtop, will go on sale in the spring of 2009.

Infiniti is not known for a slow striptease of its products, including photo debuts. But it appears to have felt compelled to show something well in advance of the Los Angeles auto show.

"We've had a lot of bad photos out there," explained Infiniti spokesman Kyle Bazemore to Inside Line on Friday when asked about the G37 convertible. "We want consumers to see how beautiful the car is. So many people have tried to Photoshop it out on the Internet using a photo of the G coupe. We want to make sure there is an accurate representation of it."

The G37 convertible in the picture is noteworthy because it bears a unique ice blue paint job — actually silver with a blue tint. Bazemore confirmed that the new color will be available on the production G37 convertible.

Infiniti is being stingy with other details, however. Bazemore would not speculate on a price for the G37 convertible. Infiniti said the G37 convertible will be equipped with the same 3.7-liter V6 as the G coupe. But where the coupe churns out 330 horsepower, the G37 convertible is expected to deliver around "320 plus" hp, according to the automaker.

Bazemore also said that, despite rumors to the contrary, no G37 convertible is on the grounds at Pebble Beach this weekend.

What this means to you: Ignore those intrepid Photoshoppers. The real picture of the 2009 Infiniti G37 convertible finally hits the streets. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent