Infiniti’s Next Big Bet Is A 400-HP Manual Sports Sedan

Going Backwards To Go Forwards

It's no secret that Japanese luxury automaker Infiniti needs a win. After peaking with 153,415 vehicles sold back in 2017, the brand has struggled to reach the same level of success, hovering around 50,000 units for the past five years. Infiniti leadership has boldly proclaimed plans to get back to 100,000 units sold by 2030.

Autoblog had a chance to speak with Infiniti Senior Manager of Product Marketing, Kim Coure, about how the company plans to attain this lofty goal.

"With the next couple of [vehicle] launches, you will see a throwback to our heritage of our brand, followed by an acceleration to the future with products that are very different than anything we have ever done before," Coure hinted.

Can Skyline Save Infiniti Again?

Infiniti's current lineup consists of three models: the QX60, the newly-introduced QX65, and the flagship QX80 that kicked off the company's brand renaissance. Next year, the Japanese luxury brand will introduce a successor to the Q50 sedan, though this model has not been given an official name yet. The upcoming sports sedan been confirmed to produce "over 400 horsepower" and feature an available manual transmission. It will also share a platform with the Nissan Skyline, just like the previous Q50, G37, and G35.

"This next high-performance sports sedan is going to build Infiniti's brand for a performance standpoint. It's not going to be something that pushes the limits on sales," Coure admitted. "We do have a growth plan for the product renaissance over the next five years to get back to the 100,000 sales. You're going to see slow, steady, sustained growth with great productions and building the brand in that time frame."

Red Sport, IPL, Or Something New?

When the Q50 (or whatever Infiniti chooses to call it) does return, there will likely be a faster version that arrives with improved performance. According to Coure, what such a variant will be called, "that's not decided at this point."

"Everyone recognizes Red Sport and IPL (Infiniti Performance Line). There is an enthusiast crowd that remembers those products and has fond memories of them. The overall sentiment is that they didn't last long enough to have an impact like an M Series or AMG that has been around for a long time and has sustained value in the market," she explained.

So while Infiniti has left the option open to bring back familiar names like Red Sport or IPL, it could also go in an entirely new direction for a performance line.

Infiniti Gets Tougher

Infiniti's product onslaught doesn't stop with the Q50 performance sedan; parent company Nissan has also confirmed five upcoming body-on-frame vehicles, two of which will go to the Infiniti brand. Coure confirmed to Autoblog that we can expect one two-row SUV and one three-row SUV out of this pair.

The three-row vehicle will likely be a high-performance version of the QX80, which has been teased twice in concept form with the QX80 Track Spec and the QX80 R-Spec, and voted to be brought to marked by 78% of Infiniti dealers.

As for the two-row SUV, that could likely be related to the Nissan Xterra, which will return for the 2028 model year. Infiniti could get its own luxury version to rival the Land Rover Defender and Lexus GX.

"We're seeing that rugged off-road market take hold and grow in the luxury space," she adds. "We want to take advantage of that growth. It's about expanding out lineup and offering something different for everyone. We can still keep crossover-based vehicles and add body-on-frame. It's about market coverage and where the market is going."

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