2012 Infiniti G37 X Sedan 4-door 3.7l on 2040-cars

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Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 priced at $48,855, AWD at $50,855

Infiniti's most powerful production model, the new Q50 Red Sport 400, now has a starting price. You'll need at least $48,855 for the rear-drive model or $50,855 for all-wheel drive. (Both figures include the $905 destination charge.) A fully loaded, rear-drive Q50 RS400 with Direct Adaptive Steering, navigation, adaptive cruise control, a heated steering wheel, and Infiniti's entire alphabet soup of safety equipment, tops out at $57,045. (Again, add $2,000 for AWD). When it comes to rear-drive competition, the closest base price to the Q50 is the 320-hp BMW 340i. This German undercuts the Infiniti by two grand, $46,795 to $48,855. But the BMW outprices the Q50 as soon as you start selecting options. A 340i with similar equipment to a loaded Q50 Red Sport 400 costs just under $60,000. All-wheel-drive German competitors also lose out in the price war. Like with the rear-drive models, the BMW 340i xDrive undercuts the Q50 RS400 by around $2,000. Add the options, and the Infiniti becomes a better value. The other two big German rivals, the Audi S4 and Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG start at a higher price and only get more expensive. Technically the S4 starts cheaper than the Q50, but only with the standard manual transmission. Selecting the S-Tronic dual-clutch model kicks the price from $50,125 to $51,125, and going for the top-end Prestige trim will bump potential Audi owners up to $57,025. Throw on must-have S4 options, including adaptive cruise control, adaptive dampers, and a sport differential and you'll be shell out $64,425 for the Audi. The Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG is the priciest choice in this group, starting at $51,725, or roughly $900 more than a base Q50 RS400 with AWD. Options, again, are the downfall here. Building a C450 to match a loaded Infiniti will drive the Mercedes' price up to $64,315. While it occupies something of a weird space relative to these vehicles, it's also worth mentioning the Cadillac CTS VSport. It's the only car in this impromptu pricing comparo that can outgun the Q50, with its 3.6-liter, twin-turbo V6 good for 420 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. It also starts at $60,950, although that includes plenty of standard equipment. All this means that the Q50 Red Sport 400 represents a relative value. It packs more power than the Germans – 80 more than the 340i, 67 more than the S4, and 38 more than the C450 – and a more comprehensive list of options, too.

2025 Infiniti QX80 confirmed with 450-hp twin-turbo V6, 50 hp more than now

Infiniti's back to tease the 2025 QX80 that debuts in 15 days. Automaker executive Ivan Espinoza starts by telling us what we already knew, the ancient 5.6-liter V8 gets sent packing by a 3.5-liter V6. Espinoza calls it "all-new," but this is in reference to the application. Parent company Nissan loves itself a TTV6, the GT-R given the codename VR38DETT, the new Nissan Z's version codenamed VR30DDTT, the same mill formerly serving the Infiniti Q50 and Q60. The 3.5-liter displacement in the QX80 means its engine can be expected to be called the VR35DDTT. We've got output numbers at last, those being 450 horsepower and 515 pound-feet of torque, improvements of 50 hp and guaranteed-to-feel-it 102 lb-ft. That outdoes the closest Japanese competition, the Lexus LX that gets 409 hp and 479 lb-ft from its TTV6. The 2025 QX80 is going to shift through a nine-speed automatic gearbox, the two additional cogs over today's seven-speed providing a 40% wider range of ratios. Owners are going to get more performance down low and efficiency up high. Doubling up on the efficiency, engineers added active grille shutters to reduce drag when massive cooling isn't needed. Espinoza also cites "a new chassis and larger frame," however, the QX80 is expected to ride on an updated version of the current SUV's body-on-frame platform, Nissan's F-Alpha that once served the Pathfinder and Titan, plus the erstwhile QX56, and still serves the Nissan Frontier. The evolution yields 57% more lateral stiffness and 25% more torsional rigidity. A new electronic air suspension with active damping keeps the hardened cage from becoming a punishment. We get our best, albeit very brief, looks at the interior as well. The four-spoke wheel is now a two-spoke wheel, a la Genesis. The digital gauge cluster and separate infotainment binnacle morphed into what looks like a single, uncovered widescreen (composed of two or more screens), akin to what we've seen in several electric vehicles like the Kia EV9 and Honda e. The restraint and subtlety in these snippets matches what's been done to the exterior, so far as we can see. The livestreamed reveal happens March 20, expect a Monograph Concept plus some flourishes. A week later, we'll get up close and personal for the 2025 QX80's public debut at the New York Auto Show.

Infiniti will reinvent its models, tech and design language as part of reboot

Infiniti raised more than a few eyebrows when it announced plans to follow a strategy it described as Nissan-Plus. Although this term suggests the brand's image will be dangerously watered down, its chief executive stressed its flag will remain firmly planted in the luxury car segment as he outlined what to expect in the coming years. The executive team led by Infiniti boss Peyman Kargar will reboot the company with a focus on profitability. "Premium brands should bring more money to the company, so that's the objective. We are not at the level we want to be," he told Automotive News. Several new products are on their way, including a crossover with a fastback-like roofline named QX55, and Kargar clarified many future models will ride on an architecture shared with parent company Nissan. It will be compatible with gasoline-powered, hybrid and electric drivetrains. He explained sharing platforms and components is necessary to save money because the company, like its peers and rivals, is spending a small fortune on developing electrified, autonomous, and connected technology. The shift will likely spell the end of the driver-friendly rear-wheel drive platform found under the Q50 and the Q60, but don't expect Infiniti to put its emblem on, say, a Sentra, and call it a day. It will remain a luxury brand. "The objective is to use these assets of the company, and then to reinject the money we are saving into the luxury experience and ingredients of Infiniti. We will put more money into Infiniti's future, but this money will come from the savings in globalized platforms," Kargar explained. The strategy he's outlining is one many of the firm's competitors have already adopted. Lexus, Acura, and Audi all build cars using parts sourced from their respective parent company. Lamborghini's Urus is related to the Volkswagen Touareg under the sheetmetal. Kargar noted every upcoming new model will be defined by an overhauled design language. We don't know if recent concept cars (like the QX Inspiration introduced in Detroit in 2019; pictured) will influence its upcoming vehicles. However, its future cars will offer nicer interiors, more user-friendly infotainment systems, and they'll receive tech features before Nissan's variants get them, which, oddly, hasn't always been the case in recent years. Infiniti's turn-around will start in 2020, when the aforementioned QX55 makes its debut after a brief delay.