Infiniti is getting serious about offering a line of performance vehicles. Leading the charge will be a hot version of the QX80 full-size SUV, inspired by the 650-horsepower Track Spec concept and 1,000-horsepower R-Spec concept. We were expecting performance just shy of the Track Spec, but plans have changed. Now, Infiniti’s aiming for even more, and not just from the engine, but from the whole vehicle, even the styling.
Infiniti QX80Infiniti
Infiniti Wants To Make A Good “First Impression”
Automotive News interviewed Vice President of Infiniti Americas Eric Ledieu, who revealed some details about the high-performance QX80 that the company announced just a few months ago. Apparently, it’s not going to come out quite as soon as we expected. Infiniti decided that it needs to make the SUV even more powerful and quicker than its initial targets, which also means it’s been slightly delayed.
Infiniti QX80Infiniti
As for those initial targets, Nissan’s American Senior Vice President and Chief of Product and Planning for Infiniti, Ponz Pandikuthira, previously said output would top 600 horsepower. That number will obviously be turned up. Automotive News says Infiniti is aiming for a sub 5-second 0-60 mph time, plus, it will have even more aggressive styling than previously planned. All of this is, as Ledieu told Automotive News, because the company has “one chance at a first impression.” We’re still expecting all of this power to come from a version of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 used across the QX80 line.
Infiniti QX80 Track Spec Concept front 3/4 angle while parkedJared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
With regard to the delay, it won’t be too long. Automotive News expects the revisions to set the hot QX80 project back by about a year. Pandikuthira said a couple of months ago that we were going to see this SUV revealed this year. So, instead, expect it to show up in 2027.
Infiniti Is Clearly Focused On One Competitor In Particular
Infiniti seems to have its sights set directly on the Cadillac Escalade-V. The Cadillac does the 0-60 mph sprint in 4.4 seconds, fitting the brand’s new target of a sub-5-second time. Plus, more power should help ensure it looks good on paper next to the Caddy’s impressive 682 hp and 653 lb-ft of torque. The Escalade is also about the only fast, luxury, body-on-frame SUV in the segment, so it makes it the clear rival to the Infiniti. If the Infiniti comes anywhere close to the Cadillac’s roughly $170,000 price tag, it needs to have close, if not better performance, too.
2025 Cadillac Escalade-VChristopher Smith/CarBuzz/Valnet
The Infiniti should also look good compared to the German competition, too, at least as far as power and torque are concerned. The Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 makes just 603 hp, and the BMW Alpina XB7 makes 631. However, both of those manage to be quicker to 60 mph than either the Cadillac or probably the Infiniti, with times of just 3.9 seconds.
2027 Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 from the front three-quarter angleMercedes-Benz
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
While it’s a little disappointing that we have to wait a bit longer for this monster Infiniti, this is probably the right thing for the company to do. Infiniti has made a couple of attempts at launching a performance line, and they’ve always been underwhelming. One of its initial attempts was with Infiniti Performance Line, which amounted to a very lightly upgraded G37. Later, it tried Red Sport, which resulted in 400-horsepower versions of the Q50 sedan and Q60 coupe, but those cars were already garnering middling reviews as standard, and the hotter ones were far short of fully-fledged M and AMG products. So, the fact that Infiniti seems to have finally learned this lesson bodes well for not just this QX80, but also the manual-equipped, Skyline-based sports sedan coming later.
Source: Automotive News
