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2025 Infiniti QX80 teased with features from the QX Monograph Concept

Infiniti began talking about its brand turnaround, and how that would affect the flagship QX80 SUV, toward the end of 2022. When the automaker debuted the QX Monograph Concept at last year's Pebble Beach Concours, the QX80 didn't get a mention in the announcement. However, the Monograph's size and lines made it clear where the top line was headed, those lines given a real work to do since designers didn't lean on the crutch of chrome to cheat their way to visual interest. The production QX80 is nearly here, Infiniti ready with the first installment of a teaser campaign in the runup to the SUV's March 20 online debut. The handful of images and a silhouette at the end of the video show plenty of Monograph details will make their way to showrooms as part of the new design language called Artistry in Motion. The video is barely about the vehicle, more about the camouflage pattern best seen in the photos. Infiniti worked with Japanese digital generative artist Kaoru Tanaka to create a pattern for the wrap that's less confusing to the eye than the errant lines and swirls in typical camo, a title card telling us, "[We] believe our artistry in motion is too extraordinary to remain completely hidden."  The photos show the good stuff. The split headlights and "piano key" DRLs from the Monograph are there, so too are flush door handles, a trim identifier. a full-width taillight and a deeply sculpted rear bumper. The QX80 lives on in the fender vent, shorn of chrome, though. One of the marquee features will be a 24-speaker Klipsch audio system that Infiniti showed at CES. And if an image at the dedicated site for the new QX80 is accurate, there will be an illuminated Infiniti badge in the grille and the most ornate puddle lights on the market. Previous reports have a twin-turbo 3.6-liter V6 displacing the current 5.6-liter V8 under the hood. The V6 is expected to make about 450 horsepower, 50 more than the V8, while being more fuel efficient about it. The menu of changes will likely take the MSRP above the $80,000 mark. After the March 20 debut, the QX80 gets a public debut at the New York Auto Show. Related video:

Infiniti Q60 dies at year's end

In 2021, Automotive News' Future Product Pipeline coverage for the Infiniti brand contained a single entry for 2023: "Infiniti Q60 ends in 2023." Turns out the report of the Q60's death was true; the brand confirmed to Car and Driver that the coupe ends production at the end of this year. We wish we were surprised at the news or the rationale. An automaker spokesperson told the magazine, "We are focusing on the most popular luxury automotive segments such as crossovers and SUVs, as well as the upcoming EV we recently announced that will be built here in the U.S." The official justification didn't address the fact that dealers sold 2,728 units of the Q60 in the U.S. last year, 64 units fewer than achieved in 2020, and 2,315 units fewer than dealers moved in 2019 — the year Q60 sales fell off a cliff after selling more than 9,000 units in 2018. Consider this another step in the "three-phase company transformation" that Chairman Peyman Kargar is in the second stage of working through. The first phase of recovery ended this March, the luxury automaker getting back to profit globally. The current second stage that will revamp, electrify, and expand the lineup is predicted to last for the next four years. The spearhead will be the new QX80 SUV, planned for late next year or early 2024 with ambitions to challenge the Cadillac Escalade, Lexus LX, and Range Rover. That luxury club barred Infiniti from entry awhile ago, so Kargar's talking about profound turnaround. As for the Q60, the shame is that a car with sweet looks and even sweeter power never got the interior or driving dynamics to match. Perhaps the return of a much better Nissan Z can provide fodder for a proper Infiniti coupe once the luxury division has restored its momentum. The spokesperson told Car and Driver that Q60 inventory should last until well into 2023, so anyone looking for a 400-horsepower bargain with a six-speed manual should mark their calendar for early next spring.   Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2019 Infiniti QX50 starts fresh with a new face and trick engine

Last week, Infiniti rolled out the refresh of the big daddy QX80 in Dubai. At this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, the Japanese automaker is poised to reveal something that's bound to be far more mainstream: the 2019 Infiniti QX50 and its trick variable compression turbocharged engine, or VC-T. In addition to the new engine, the QX50 drops rear-wheel drive in favor of an all-new front-wheel-drive platform and gets the new ProPilot assist technology that debuted on the Nissan Leaf. The QX50 may be the headliner, but the engine is the really interesting bit. This 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four can adjust the stroke of the pistons on the fly, varying the engine's compression from 8:1 to 14:1, and giving the new midsize crossover improved efficiency and diesel-like torque. It's rated at 268 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, down 57 horses but up 14 pound-feet. Front-wheel-drive models hit 60 mph in 6.7 seconds. That drops to 6.2 seconds with all-wheel drive. Combined fuel economy is 27 mpg for front-wheel-drive QX50s and 26 mpg for all-wheel-drive variants, both up from the abysmal 20 mpg combined rating of the current model. Power is sent through a continuously variable transmission. If it's like other Nissan and Infiniti CVTs, it will be inoffensive if a bit lifeless. We've covered the details of this powertrain extensively already, but it's great to see companies giving more life to the internal combustion engine. The new platform marks a big improvement over the outgoing QX50 in terms of platform rigidity and space efficiency. Rear-wheel drive might be fun, but it's never ideal from a packaging perspective. Cargo capacity is up from 31.6 cubic-feet to 37 cubic-feet. With the seats down, the space expands to 60 cubic feet, up from 50.1 cubic feet. That's not exactly class-leading, but it's no longer among the class-worst. The 2019 QX50 will use a new type of high-tensile steel, improving torsional rigidity by 23 percent and shaving overall weight. The styling falls in line with most other Infiniti products. The outgoing model had a bit of an identity crisis, looking more like a lifted wagon than a fully-realized crossover (it was, after all, essentially a G35/G37 wagon). This new one has much more conventional SUV proportions. In fact, it looks like a 7/8-scale version of the new QX80 with a front-wheel-drive profile. That's either good news or bad news, depending on where your tastes fall.