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Analyzing De Nyscchen's 25-year comeback plan for Infiniti

"It took us 25 years to bring Audi back in the US. This kind of thing takes a long time."
When Johan De Nysschen left his post at Audi of America last year to take the seemingly thankless job of leading Infiniti's global operations, it seemed like a familiar scenario. Like Michael Dukakis going from one of two men that could have won the White House to teaching political science at an obscure Florida college.

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 hires Sebastian Vettel as Director of Performance

Remember when, during the Grand Prix of the Americas weekend last November, we told you that Sebastian Vettel had worked with Infiniti on the new G Coupe and that there'd be more of that kind of involvement on the way? It's been made official with the three-time Formula One World Champion being named Infiniti's Director of Performance.
Although the announcement is fresh, Vettel's time on the job isn't, Infiniti saying that Vettel went to Japan, the Nürburgring and the Circuit de Catalunya to assist in the development of the Q50 sedan.
When we spoke to Andreas Sigl, the man in charge of Infiniti's F1 collaboration with Red Bull, about the tie-up he had also said, "Like Mercedes has AMG and BMW has M - whether it's called IPL or not - we want to have something in that space." If the brand is still serious about that, Vettel's chops could help them deliver the kind of performance they'd need as upstarts to challenge the ringleaders of that particular hi-po circus.