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2021 Infiniti QX50 adds new features and a blacked-out appearance package

The 2021 Infiniti QX50 is out, and Infiniti has made a couple changes of note. Most of them are equipment related, but the luxury crossover’s price is going up this year, too. A base QX50 Pure is $700 more expensive this for 2021, with the new total being $38,975. That gets you the front-wheel-drive model. If you want all-wheel drive, thatÂ’ll be another $2,000. For your extra coin, Infiniti has added a Wi-Fi hotspot, acoustic laminated front side glass, rear seat-mounted side-impact airbags and a new automatic emergency call system for when the vehicle is involved in a collision. All those features are standard across every QX50. More features are also added to the $42,525 Luxe trim as standard equipment. You now get heated front seats and ProPilot Assist. ThereÂ’s also a new $1,200 Appearance Package that is exclusively available on this trim. It adds 20-inch black-painted wheels, black mirror caps, black mesh grille, dark chrome exterior accents and a graphite headliner. Photos of this package can be seen in the monochromatic montage below. The price increases can be seen across the whole line. Even the Autograph (top trim) is up by $350 this year to $55,225. Tiny equipment bumps come along with these price increases. For example, the Essential trim adds the head-up display for no cost, and the Autograph trim adds InfinitiÂ’s Direct Adaptive Steering system. The 2021 QX50 is in dealers and on sale now. Related Video:

Infiniti previews its own Vision Gran Turismo

Every automaker and its parent company is lining up to design its own set of wheels for the GT6 as part of the Vision Gran Turismo program, and this latest one comes from Infiniti. Although nothing in the way of details were disclosed at this point, the two teaser images released today show that, like most of its compatriots, Infiniti's design is for a low-slung, track-focused, two-door sports car. Its long bonnet suggests a front-engined layout, with an intriguingly ovoid windshield framed by raised buttress A-pillars and Infiniti's signature dog-leg rear pillars. The aerodynamic profiling looks suitably advanced for a mythical beast like this one, with deep extractor vents cut into the hood, intersecting side sills running from the front brake vents, an enormous rear diffuser and an even bigger rear wing. More than that we couldn't tell you at this point, but we're sure video racers will enjoy driving this super-Datsun as much as the Nissan Concept 2020 Vision Gran Turismo released back in June.

Infiniti Q30 Concept might be the cleverest Q model yet

When we first got official word of the Infiniti Q30 Concept, the Japanese automaker said that the crossover's "harmonious contrasts and dissymmetric philosophy" would "make an emotional connection with customers spontaneously." Now, we might not be heads of design studios or directors of marketing departments, but we're pretty sure we can translate that to: "The production Q30 will compete with the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class."
In all seriousness (if we can say that of a concept car painted a sort of rose metallic), the Q30 concept looks fetching here in Frankfurt; its rather convoluted and flowing bodywork just carried off successfully because of its grownup hatchback proportions and, frankly, huge wheels. The Q30 could seemingly slot into the current, attractive Infiniti range of production cars and not look amiss (though we'd prefer a color palette that looks a little less like Grandma's sitting room sofa).
Look above for our live images of the Infiniti Q30 Concept from the show floor in Frankfurt, below for stock pictures of the thing, or scroll down to re-read the breathless press release.