Tag Archives: Infiniti

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INFINITI QX65 Monograph: The FX Spirit Reimagined, or Just Another Pretty Face?

Monterey Car Week has a way of turning concepts into conversation pieces, and INFINITI clearly wants in on the noise. At The Quail, the brand unveiled the QX65 Monograph, a sportback SUV concept designed to resurrect some of the daring that once made the FX a design icon.

INFINITI says this sleek two-row, midsize SUV pushes its “Artistry in Motion” philosophy forward, and if nothing else, the QX65 makes a statement. The proportions are bold, the stance is unapologetically athletic, and the detailing is far more ambitious than what’s been rolling out of INFINITI showrooms lately. If the FX was once the rule-breaker in the luxury crossover space, this Monograph wants to remind us that INFINITI still knows how to color outside the lines.

A Roofline That’s All Attitude

The defining feature here is the fastback silhouette. The roofline arcs dramatically before plunging into the tail, a design flourish that gives the QX65 an instant sense of speed, whether parked or in motion. Wide fenders and wheels shoved to the corners further amplify its stance. INFINITI calls it “muscular elegance.” We’d call it “FX with a 2025 haircut.”

Twilight in Motion

Then there’s the paint. The Twilight finish—an evolution of INFINITI’s Akane hue—shifts between reddish purple and shimmering gold depending on the light. It’s flashy, yes, but it works. Paired with gloss black trim and bronze accents that trace the roofline and grille, the QX65 looks properly exotic in the California sun.

The grille itself nods to Japanese bamboo forests, though this time INFINITI’s designers have “stirred the trees in a storm,” creating a more aggressive texture. A glowing badge sits dead center, flanked by piano key LED lighting that stretches nearly the full width of the nose. It’s dramatic, bordering on theatrical, but it’s the kind of theater that might actually get people to look twice at an INFINITI again.

Jet-Inspired Details, Designer Wheels

Around back, jet-inspired taillights extend outward with vertical fins, a design cue meant to add depth and speed. The rest of the tail is deliberately clean, letting the LEDs carry the drama. Massive 22-inch wheels with twisted, layered spokes mirror the roofline’s sense of movement and detail, proving that INFINITI is sweating the small stuff.

Concept Today, Reality Tomorrow?

Of course, all this concept-car bravado raises the usual question: how much of this makes production? INFINITI execs insist the QX65 Monograph is more than vaporware. “It’s a signal,” says Tiago Castro, VP of INFINITI Americas. The brand, which has spent the better part of a decade chasing relevance, clearly sees this as a pivot point.

The challenge will be execution. Will the Twilight paint, sculpted body, and bold roofline survive the translation to a real showroom model? And will the production QX65 carry the hardware—engines, tech, dynamics—to back up the design, or will it be another case of style over substance?

For now, the QX65 Monograph is a refreshing reminder that INFINITI hasn’t forgotten how to dream. Whether it can deliver on those dreams in the very crowded midsize luxury space remains the bigger story.

Source: Infiniti

NEW CARS

INFINITI Doubles Down: QX80 Track Spec and Terrain Spec Concepts Take Flagship SUV to Wild Extremes

The 2025 INFINITI QX80 has only just rolled into the luxury SUV spotlight, and already the brand is throwing down a bold statement about where it might go next. At this year’s Quail during Monterey Car Week, INFINITI unveiled not one but two concept spins on its new flagship: the QX80 Track Spec and the QX80 Terrain Spec. Together, they’re meant to show just how far the big SUV can stretch—whether toward Nürburgring-inspired performance or Baja-ready adventure.

On paper, the Track Spec and Terrain Spec couldn’t be more different, but both spring from the same idea: INFINITI’s flagship should be more than a three-row status symbol. It can also be a machine that scratches the itch for thrill-seekers and overlanders alike, all without straying from the brand’s luxury ethos.

The Street Fighter: QX80 Track Spec

The Track Spec is the headline grabber, a family hauler turned unapologetic performance SUV. The look says as much before you even glance at the spec sheet: a matte metallic black-blue wrap, a brawnier stance thanks to flared fenders and 24-inch wheels, a splitter and rocker panels borrowed from the tuner playbook, and quad exhausts jutting out beneath a new diffuser. INFINITI even lifted the aggressive grille from the QX80 SPORT grade to further underline its intent.

But the real story is under the hood. The QX80’s standard twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 has been massaged into uncharted territory with a new turbocharger setup, beefed-up intercooler, revised injectors, and a freer-flowing exhaust. The result? More than 650 horsepower and 750 pound-feet of torque—a staggering 50 percent jump in output, achieved without touching the block’s internals. That makes this the most powerful engine INFINITI has ever shown, period.

Backing it up are enlarged Brembo brakes and an engineering approach that, the company insists, was tuned for durability as much as thrills. INFINITI wants this to be more than a dyno queen—it wants it to feel at home tearing down canyon roads, the kind that inspired the concept in the first place.

The Trail Conqueror: QX80 Terrain Spec

On the opposite end of the spectrum sits the Terrain Spec, an overlanding fantasy rendered in satin dark basalt vinyl. Where the Track Spec hunkers down, this one towers up: raised suspension, knobby all-terrain tires, and protective cladding give it the clearance and toughness to handle genuine off-road punishment. A rooftop tent, light bar, limb risers, and a side-exit exhaust round out the overlanding aesthetic, while INFINITI’s usual bag of tech tricks—including the clever Invisible Hood View camera system—help drivers navigate rocky trails without destroying that sculpted front bumper.

It’s not just rugged—it’s unapologetically plush, too. INFINITI clearly wants Terrain Spec to sell the idea that overlanding doesn’t have to mean sacrificing comfort. Think trail-tackling in first-class lounge conditions, not dusty Spartan minimalism.

Two Extremes, One Vision

Taken together, the QX80 Track Spec and Terrain Spec highlight what INFINITI executives are calling a “fast-to-market” mindset—testing extremes of performance and adventure to gauge how customers might want to experience luxury going forward.

David Woodhouse, Nissan Design America’s VP, summed it up neatly: “Canyon roads test performance, mountain trails invite adventure. These vehicles explore two distinct expressions of strength and elegance, both unmistakably INFINITI.”

The message is clear: INFINITI isn’t content with its flagship being just another velvet-lined people mover. Whether either of these concepts reaches showrooms is another question entirely, but for now, they serve as striking what-ifs—one hinting at the brand’s most powerful SUV ever, the other at one of the most luxurious overlanders in the segment.

And if nothing else, they show that INFINITI wants the QX80 to be more than a rival to Cadillac and Lincoln—it wants to be a stage for wild imagination.

Source: Infiniti

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Infiniti’s Resurrection Plan: A New Q50 With Z DNA

Infiniti, bless its soul, hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders lately. Sales are a fraction of what they were a decade ago, its lineup is thinner than a Hollywood juice cleanse, and most people under the age of 40 would be hard-pressed to name a single car the brand sells that isn’t just… another crossover. But the Japanese marque might finally have a plan to dust off the cobwebs—and it involves horsepower. Lots of it.

According to whispers from inside the company (and the occasional leak to Automotive News), Infiniti is cooking up a brand-new Q50 for the U.S. market. Yes, the Q50. The sedan they quietly killed after 2024 because nobody was buying sedans anymore. Only this time, it’s coming back with a vengeance, borrowing heavily from its Japanese-market Skyline twin and—wait for it—the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 from the Nissan Z.

That’s right, 400 horses at minimum, but potentially north of 450 hp if you believe the chatter. Rear-wheel drive. A six-speed manual. The sort of spec sheet that makes enthusiasts’ palms sweaty and accountants nervous. It’s the sort of car that sounds less like a sensible business decision and more like a drunken dare that somehow got greenlit. And we love it.

Infiniti bosses are promising something “unapologetic and unexpected.” Which, translated from corporate-speak, means “we know nobody asked for this, but screw it, we’re doing it anyway.” There’s even talk of a second-generation Q50 Red Sport, which could bring back some of that fire-breathing, Autobahn-chasing swagger Infiniti once flirted with before it retreated into crossover purgatory.

It’s a bold pivot, especially since the original plan was to replace the Q50 with yet another electric car. But then the EV market started looking less like the gold rush and more like a slow-motion pileup, and suddenly gasoline didn’t seem so bad after all. So instead of a silent, sensible EV sedan, Infiniti will unleash a loud, slightly unhinged, petrol-snorting sports saloon. Somewhere, a BMW M340i just shuddered.

Infiniti even teased dealers with a Q50S-badged prototype in Las Vegas, described by insiders as “visceral” and “not practical.” Which, frankly, is exactly the sort of energy Infiniti needs if it wants to remind the world it still has a pulse. Expect sleek headlights, Skyline-inspired round taillights, and a general vibe of “we used to be cool, remember?”

Don’t get too excited just yet, though—the car isn’t expected to hit dealerships until the second half of 2027. That’s a long wait, and by then, who knows what state Infiniti—or the sedan market—will be in. But if this thing actually makes it to showrooms, Infiniti might finally give enthusiasts a reason to look its way again.

After all, as one exec put it, this is Infiniti’s chance to “connect back to the roots of the brand.” Roots, in this case, being: a fast, impractical, rear-drive sports sedan with a manual gearbox. Exactly what nobody thought Infiniti would do in 2027. And that’s precisely why it might just work.

Source: Automotive News