Tag Archives: vehicles

NEW CARS

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

New Audi E5 Sportback Only for China

Well, this is it. Audi has finally built a car it really wants you to know about — and it’s not for you. Unless, of course, you happen to live in China, where the all-new Audi E5 Sportback has just thundered off the production line in Anting like a freshly charged iPhone on wheels.

Yes, August 18 was the birthday of Audi’s first series-production model developed specifically for China, in partnership with local heavyweight SAIC. The message is clear: Germany makes the suits, China adds the smart tech, and together they’re gunning for the future of electric fastbacks.

What is it?

On paper, the E5 Sportback is a bit of a monster. A fully electric, four-door fastback, it churns out up to 579 kW (that’s nearly 800 horsepower in old money), will slap you to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, and still promises a maximum range of 770 kilometres. So yes, it’s both a drag-strip hooligan and a long-distance Zen master. Choose from four different powertrains: rear-wheel drive for the purists, quattro for the snowbound or the terminally enthusiastic.

The Platform Play

Underneath it all sits Audi’s shiny new Advanced Digitized Platform (ADP). Think of it as the silicon spine of the car: over-the-air updates, next-gen connectivity, and enough digital wizardry to make even Tesla owners raise an eyebrow. It’s not just a car; it’s a rolling app store with quattro muscles.

Built the Chinese Way

Production is happening in a dedicated new facility at the SAIC Volkswagen site in Shanghai. About 700 people (and a terrifying army of robots) are building these things, overseen by machine learning systems that check quality in real time. It’s basically Skynet with a torque wrench.

And this isn’t a one-off. The E5 Sportback is the opening act of a trilogy, with two more Audi models due in the next two years.

Audi’s Big Pitch

Fermín Soneira, the man in charge of this German-Chinese mashup, says every Audi “embodies the best of both worlds.” Translation: You get German design, quality and driving dynamics, fused with China’s bleeding-edge digital ecosystem. In short, it’s an Audi that speaks fluent Mandarin — and WeChat.

Should You Want One?

Well, unless you live in China, no. But you should still pay attention, because this isn’t just another electric Audi. This is Audi rethinking its future market, building a car around Chinese customers and their tech-obsessed lifestyles. It’s as much a cultural shift as an engineering one.

And with nearly 800 horsepower, 770 km of range, and the kind of acceleration that makes your eyeballs stick to the back of your skull, the E5 Sportback might just be the most exciting Audi you can’t buy.

Source: Audi

NEW CARS

New Volkswagen T-Roc: Half-Electric, Half-Petrol, All Very Confusing

Ah, the Volkswagen T-Roc. Once the slightly left-field choice in VW’s SUV line-up — less Golf-on-stilts, more Golf-with-an-identity-crisis. Now, the Germans are giving it a second chance at life. The Mk2 T-Roc will break cover in the next few weeks before strutting its stuff at September’s Munich motor show, where VW also plans to roll out the ID 2X — a dinky electric SUV for people who think a Polo is just too rebellious.

But here’s the twist. This isn’t just another facelift with shinier lights and a grille large enough to inhale small wildlife. No, this is VW’s first-ever full hybrid system. That’s right — a Toyota-style setup where the car can run on petrol, electric, or both, depending on what mood it’s in. A proper HEV, not just a plug-in with delusions of grandeur.

That makes the T-Roc a bit of a guinea pig for Wolfsburg. Volkswagen has never sold a full hybrid before, and now it’s entering the game precisely as most of Europe is being told to bin hybrids altogether in favour of pure electric. Timing, eh? CEO Thomas Schäfer admits it’s a bit of an experiment. The thinking goes like this: South America wants hybrids, the US has suddenly rediscovered hybrids after falling out of love with EVs, and China… well, China will take whatever sells. And since the T-Roc is built in both South America and China, VW figured, why not give it a go?

The logic makes sense. Sort of. Europe is sprinting towards an all-electric future, but elsewhere the hybrid torch is still burning — and VW would rather not leave Toyota alone to hoover up sales with the Corolla Cross and RAV4. So the new T-Roc gets the job of testing the water. If it works, the system will spread to the Golf and Tiguan over the next two years. But don’t expect it in every MQB-based VW — they’re not going to “double everything up,” says Schäfer. Which is corporate speak for: don’t hold your breath for a hybrid Arteon.

So, what are we looking at here? In theory, a T-Roc that sips fuel like a nun at communion but still gives you that instant electric shove around town. In practice, well… we’ll have to wait until the covers come off. But here’s the real story: in 2025, Volkswagen has finally admitted it can’t ignore hybrids. Even as it preaches an all-electric future, it’s hedging its bets with old-school petrol-and-battery mash-ups.

Toyota will be smirking into its sake.

Source: Autocar