Mysterious Infiniti Flagship Sketch Leaked
08-13-13, 10:11 AM
#1
Mysterious Infiniti Flagship Sketch Leaked
Infiniti selected Alfonso Albaisa as its executive design director in May of this year, and if the leaked image above is any indication, the man has been hard at work these last few months. Sent in an electric missive to us from the very heart of the Infiniti design shop, we can't say exactly who the source of this rendering is, but we do recognize Albaisa's signature in the bottom left corner.
Details as to just what the image represents for the future Infiniti range are non-existent at this point, but the form of the car does lend itself to some educated guesses. While the detailing of the large grille, headlights and kinked rear-quarter glass all follow current Infiniti styling conventions, the proportions of the design raise our eyebrows a bit.
As you can see, there's an awful lot of wheelbase stretched between those exaggerated wheels, and quite a bit of real estate between the front axle and the dash, as well. Both those things point strongly at a "flagship" car to sit at the top of the model line. Currently, Infiniti's M range (soon to be renamed Q70) resides at the top of the brand's portfolio; as the fourth generation of that car was introduced for the 2011 model year, a clean-sheet redesign seems unlikely.
That just leaves us with the idea of a long-wished for replacement for the company's old Q range, last seen in North America as the Q45, and with many reports calling it dead forever. A fullsize luxury player certainly makes sense in the context of the image here, and a sexy one at that. As for its name? Infiniti's all-Q structure would seemingly peg a range-topping sedan as either a Q80 or a Q90, depending fully on whether or not the brand wished to reserve the Q80 moniker for a Q70 (that's the M, remember?) based coupe/convertible product.
Details as to just what the image represents for the future Infiniti range are non-existent at this point, but the form of the car does lend itself to some educated guesses. While the detailing of the large grille, headlights and kinked rear-quarter glass all follow current Infiniti styling conventions, the proportions of the design raise our eyebrows a bit.
As you can see, there's an awful lot of wheelbase stretched between those exaggerated wheels, and quite a bit of real estate between the front axle and the dash, as well. Both those things point strongly at a "flagship" car to sit at the top of the model line. Currently, Infiniti's M range (soon to be renamed Q70) resides at the top of the brand's portfolio; as the fourth generation of that car was introduced for the 2011 model year, a clean-sheet redesign seems unlikely.
That just leaves us with the idea of a long-wished for replacement for the company's old Q range, last seen in North America as the Q45, and with many reports calling it dead forever. A fullsize luxury player certainly makes sense in the context of the image here, and a sexy one at that. As for its name? Infiniti's all-Q structure would seemingly peg a range-topping sedan as either a Q80 or a Q90, depending fully on whether or not the brand wished to reserve the Q80 moniker for a Q70 (that's the M, remember?) based coupe/convertible product.
08-13-13, 03:19 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
Looks cool but then again they actually built and showed the beautiful Essence Concept with a interior and they never bothered to build it despite it being a hit at the show and being praised. If Infiniti does build a flagship sedan I think they should go more with a aggressive low slung 4 door type car like a CLS or 6 series Gran Coupe instead of a traditional big flagship like the Q45 which they were never successful with.
08-13-13, 03:49 PM
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Looks cool but then again they actually built and showed the beautiful Essence Concept with a interior and they never bothered to build it despite it being a hit at the show and being praised. If Infiniti does build a flagship sedan I think they should go more with a aggressive low slung 4 door type car like a CLS or 6 series Gran Coupe instead of a traditional big flagship like the Q45 which they were never successful with.
. Screw "Japanese BMW"...Infiniti should go after "Japanese Porsche." 
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08-13-13, 05:54 PM
#8
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Looks like a generic concept to me.
A lot of concept cars look like that. Impractically sleek with oversized wheels, 0 wheel gap, no side mirrors, and disproportionate doors.
I agree with the person who says it looks like a stretched Q50.
A lot of concept cars look like that. Impractically sleek with oversized wheels, 0 wheel gap, no side mirrors, and disproportionate doors.
I agree with the person who says it looks like a stretched Q50.
08-13-13, 07:11 PM
#10
Even without the Q50 you can see its styling emerging from the M37 as a precursor. Same with the IS-F and HS before the spindle came to be
And the greenhouse on that render btw has a Tesla S rake to it
08-13-13, 07:31 PM
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And why wouldn't it. It's evident that certain design language on most every automaker these days is a "one sausage different lengths" mentality. BMW's look the same, Audi's, Lexus, MBZ, Jaguar, Acura, Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Mazda etc.. Each more or less do the same or offer similar performances and features per respective categories, so it really comes down to a persons preference in aesthetics.
Even without the Q50 you can see its styling emerging from the M37 as a precursor. Same with the IS-F and HS before the spindle came to be
And the greenhouse on that render btw has a Tesla S rake to it
Even without the Q50 you can see its styling emerging from the M37 as a precursor. Same with the IS-F and HS before the spindle came to be
And the greenhouse on that render btw has a Tesla S rake to it
I think concept pictures like this are all useless more or less. Here's an early LFLC concept from Lexus that I similarly find useless for the reasons aforementioned -
That's also a generic concept drawing that offers little to no insight.
08-13-13, 07:42 PM
#12
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Its an old sketch of the Q50....
The brand is in the red or barely profitable according to Nissan. Ghosn won't sign off on anything that wont' make money. Its very likely the M is in the red as sales have been awful so it makes the case for a vehicle above it even tougher since the midsize vehicle they sell now is unwanted.
The Q50 launch has been a disaster, just go read their facebook wall or the Q50 forums. If the Q50 is the "new" way for the brand, its really more of the same sadly.
Shame b/c outside of the buggy software the car is pretty good and I'm enjoying it.
The brand is in the red or barely profitable according to Nissan. Ghosn won't sign off on anything that wont' make money. Its very likely the M is in the red as sales have been awful so it makes the case for a vehicle above it even tougher since the midsize vehicle they sell now is unwanted.
The Q50 launch has been a disaster, just go read their facebook wall or the Q50 forums. If the Q50 is the "new" way for the brand, its really more of the same sadly.
Shame b/c outside of the buggy software the car is pretty good and I'm enjoying it.
08-13-13, 08:26 PM
#14
It's not a sketch of the Q50. It should be be obvious from the proportions of the sketch. Alfonso Albaisa just joined this summer, why would he sketch the Q50, a car whose design was frozen years ago?
It does look like a stretched version of the Q50 though, with a little bit of the Mazda Shinari. It also quite damn good. This sketch and the new Q50 looks much better than the failed M, it's a good decision by Albaisa to keep the Q50 design language.
It does look like a stretched version of the Q50 though, with a little bit of the Mazda Shinari. It also quite damn good. This sketch and the new Q50 looks much better than the failed M, it's a good decision by Albaisa to keep the Q50 design language.
08-14-13, 12:50 AM
#15
No I really can't see any design language emerging. I can see the headlights.
I think concept pictures like this are all useless more or less. Here's an early LFLC concept from Lexus that I similarly find useless for the reasons aforementioned -
That's also a generic concept drawing that offers little to no insight.
I think concept pictures like this are all useless more or less. Here's an early LFLC concept from Lexus that I similarly find useless for the reasons aforementioned -
That's also a generic concept drawing that offers little to no insight.
Its an old sketch of the Q50....
The brand is in the red or barely profitable according to Nissan. Ghosn won't sign off on anything that wont' make money. Its very likely the M is in the red as sales have been awful so it makes the case for a vehicle above it even tougher since the midsize vehicle they sell now is unwanted.
The Q50 launch has been a disaster, just go read their facebook wall or the Q50 forums. If the Q50 is the "new" way for the brand, its really more of the same sadly.
Shame b/c outside of the buggy software the car is pretty good and I'm enjoying it.
The brand is in the red or barely profitable according to Nissan. Ghosn won't sign off on anything that wont' make money. Its very likely the M is in the red as sales have been awful so it makes the case for a vehicle above it even tougher since the midsize vehicle they sell now is unwanted.
The Q50 launch has been a disaster, just go read their facebook wall or the Q50 forums. If the Q50 is the "new" way for the brand, its really more of the same sadly.
Shame b/c outside of the buggy software the car is pretty good and I'm enjoying it.