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Infiniti previews a new... something

Sometimes we get a teaser image and accompanying statement where we can at least surmise what the automaker is up to. This is not one of those times.
The automaker, in this case, is Infiniti, and the teaser image shows only a grille with a similar shape to what you'd find on most of the company's products, albeit with a curvier mesh. Which isn't much to go on, really, and the accompanying statement (which you can read below in its forty-word entirety) doesn't give us much more. All it says is that the vehicle in question - which we'll wager is a concept car instead of a production debut - has "style and substance" embodied in a "vision... on a scale not seen before" from Infiniti.
Given the French peppered into the release and the encroaching chronological proximity of the Paris Motor Show, we'd guess that's where Infiniti will reveal this latest but of inspiration, but just what form it will take is still a mystery.

2014 Infiniti Q50

Avoiding An Identity Crisis... For Now
Infiniti is a brand that has been quietly undergoing major upheaval - and not just with the numbers and letters on its trunklids. Back in December, Nissan's premium brand rankled fans and pundits by announcing it would redo its alphanumeric nomenclature, yet that decision was but a PR speedbump - there are bigger fish to fry. After all, this is a marque that was on the chopping block just a couple of years ago, and now it has a major opportunity to succeed thanks to new investment, new independence (Infiniti is now responsible for its own design, engineering, marketing, quality and human resources), a new global headquarters in Hong Kong, and new marching orders from new leadership that calls for a revitalized and expanded portfolio.
Yet if you think that the Q-based naming convention is the first sign of the brand's new direction, you might have missed Infiniti's biggest signal flare: the 2013 JX crossover. Fine premium three-row crossover that it may be, it's still the first Infiniti in ages that operates without a scintilla of driving entertainment at the core of its genetic makeup. (The last - and perhaps only - previous example was also Pathfinder-based, the 1997 QX4). To be fair, three-row CUVs have a laundry list of priorities before driving enjoyment figures in, but the message the JX (henceforth known as the QX60) sends is clear: Infiniti is going after more segments and more customers. Plans are afoot to expand the company's product line by a whopping 60 percent over the next five years, and in short, that means Infiniti is no longer content to be the unsung Japanese BMW - it needs vehicles that satisfy a wider swath of consumers. Despite all this, Infiniti officials we spoke with were keen to assert that driving pleasure remains very much core to their mission, and to that of this 2014 Q50 in particular.

Infiniti Q30 Concept uncovered in Frankfurt

The curtain has officially been raised on the Infiniti Q30 Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, an oft-teased five-door hatchback that will move the neo-luxury brand downmarket to compete with the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class. Not only is Infiniti moving down market, it's targeting a younger audience, a field that it hasn't traditionally played in, that wants something different than a hum-drum luxury car. According to Infiniti's marketing director, Hugues Fabre, "Younger customers are coming into the premium segment with their own attitude toward premium-ness."
Infiniti's trademark styling elements are on full display here, from the radically kinked C-pillar and Q50-inspired headlights and grille, to the dramatic character lines on the profile. In the cabin, it looks like an extraterrestrial disco, with a lot of violet lighting, bronzed touchpoints and creamy leather. Ignore the concept car tinsel, though, and you'll see that Infiniti is dead serious when it says the Q30 foreshadows a production model.
We'll have plenty more of the Infiniti Q30, including live images from the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show floor, very soon. Until then, click over to our Frankfurt coverage page, scroll down for a full press release on the Q30, or click over to the high-res gallery.