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2022 Infiniti QX55 marks the company's foray into crossover 'coupes'

Using a formula proven by the major German luxury car companies, Infiniti is now getting in on the crossover "coupe" game. The 2022 Infiniti QX55 takes the QX50 small crossover and adds a fastback roofline for a sportier look. Infiniti says the design makes the QX55 a spiritual successor to the FX crossover of the mid-to-late-2000s and early 2010s. We're not sure if the mechanical bits live up to the rear-drive-based FX chassis, but the low roof and curvy body do share a connection to that old SUV. In fact, the QX55 looks rather striking, and the flowing lines work nicely with the simple, arcing roof. Some other small tweaks to the base styling emphasize the QX55's style focus including a more pronounced grille with larger air intakes surrounding it at the front. At the back, the license plate mount has been moved to the bumper, allowing for prominent Infiniti lettering on the hatch. Additionally, 20-inch wheels are a standard feature on all QX55 models. The rest of the QX55 is basically the same as the QX50. It shares the turbocharged, variable-compression engine making 268 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. It's mated to a CVT and all-wheel-drive, which is standard on all QX55 models. The interior is carry-over with dual infotainment screens and an asymmetric, driver-focused dash design. Like the QX50, it can be slathered in two-tone leather for a very premium feel. The debut vehicle features a bold black and red color combination. The QX55 goes on sale this coming spring. It will be available in three trim levels: Luxe, Essential and Sensory. Pricing hasn't been announced, but expect it to be a bit more costly than the equivalent QX50. For reference, a QX50 Luxe with all-wheel-drive starts around $44,000, and at the other end of the spectrum is the QX50 Sensory with all-wheel-drive starting at around $53,000. Related Video:

Infiniti's new VC-T changes the rules of small turbocharged engines

The upcoming Infiniti QX50 crossover does not get our pulse racing, no matter how shapely the QX Sport Inspiration concept that previews it may be. No midsize SUV does, to be fair. But it has something special under the hood – the world's first production variable-compression-ratio engine. That means the QX50's 2.0-liter turbo four, which makes 268 horsepower and 288 pound-feet of torque, will have up to 27 percent better fuel economy. Here's how it works. The trend of moving to smaller, turbocharged engines carries with it one big falsehood. Under low load when the turbo isn't needed, these engines are less efficient than an equivalent engine without a turbo because of the low compression ratio the turbo requires. That is, if you never need the extra power, you're wasting fuel. Turbocharged (and supercharged) engines use a lower compression ratio to prevent detonation. When you force extra air in a cylinder and mix it with fuel, it's more likely to prematurely go boom. Lowering the compression ratio prevents this problem, but it's less efficient. Infiniti's VC-T promises the best of both worlds, with a compression ratio that ranges from 8.0:1 for high-power turbo needs to a 14.0:1 ratio for fuel-sipping efficiency. At its heart the VC-T engine is a simple idea, but it's complicated to explain. Consider yourself warned. The photo below from Infiniti serves as a good visual overview. For the truly nerdy, this patent application covers the mechanical concept. Instead of having the pistons connected to the crankshaft, Infiniti's engine has a pivot arm with a connection on each end. One end connects to the piston, the other connects to a second lower shaft, which is controlled by an actuator arm. At any given time the engine's pistons move up and down according to the lobes on the crankshaft. But the actuator arm can change the angle of the pivot arm up and down. That is, the pistons still move in the same motion with the same stroke, but phase the entire stroke up or down. Move the pivot up and there's less room at the top, which means a higher compression ratio. Move the pivot down and the compression ratio goes down, too. As an added bonus, the lower shaft eliminates the need for counter-rotating balance shafts. Infiniti says this system works constantly and can vary the compression ratio to any number between 8:1 and 14:1. It also uses electronic variable valve timing on the intake valves to switch into Atkinson-cycle combustion for greater efficiency.

Infiniti QX55 crossover coupe teased again, hints at FX looks and a surprise out back

Infiniti plans to launch five new vehicles in the next three years. We got an abstract squiggle of the first one in August, when Infitini teased the coming QX55 crossover coupe during Monterey Car Week. Said to act as a medium that would communicate design language from the dearly departed FX crossover, the QX55 is meant to infuse a lot more design mojo to the conventional QX50 crossover that it's based on. The Japanese luxury brand just dropped the second teaser, this one revealing a swath of greenhouse and shoulder, and indeed, an arc of chrome trim that could have been traced from FX production drawings. The attention-getter here is what comes behind the greenhouse: A tailgate extension with the makings of a stubby trunk.  Positive reviews have come from a group of media to whom Infiniti showed a matte gray pre-production version of the QX55. The front diverges from the QX50 only in a few details, while the roofline isn't as coupe-ish as it might be because designers wanted to ensure adequate headroom for rear seat passengers. The steep rake has been saved for the area aft of the C-pillar, convincing one scribe to write that "the QX55 reminds us most of the Audi Q8, which also lacks swooping silhouette and looks more like a lifted hatchback." The rear fascia is said to look "cleaner and more modern than Infiniti’s current midsize crossovers," even though the jutting rear presents a vertically flat lower hatch that looks "a bit boxy." Having moved the license plate holder to the bumper, the wide expanse is home to a larger Infiniti badge and logo script with an "I" that serves an as-yet-undisclosed function. At the edges come taillights with a "sharp new piano key design." One site summed up with, "this is a gorgeous crossover coupe that will turn heads." The QX50 is expected to debut in the first three months of 2020, with an on-sale date sometime next summer.