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Customer LoginsInfiniti launches new Q60 coupe to empower the drive
Infiniti launches the 2017 Q60 coupe in the third quarter of 2016. A statement car, the new Q60's role is more about presence and image than sales volume.
IHS Markit Perspective
- Significance: Infiniti's 2017 Q60 coupe arrives in dealers in the third quarter of 2016, supported by a global media introduction in October. The new coupe is derived from the Q50 sedan, and benefits from that vehicle's new engine line-up and technology.
- Implications: The Q60 is a statement car for Infiniti, defining the overall brand image and the attributes for which it would like to be known (design, driver-centric approach, forward technology), but the more significant introductions for the brand's overall performance in 2016 and 2017 are the QX30 and QX50 SUVs.
- Outlook: The Infiniti 2017 Q60 coupe will be a relatively low-volume entry, being introduced against the backdrop of a market with an increasing preference for SUVs from luxury brands. Even so, vehicles such as the Q60 provide an attractive, affordable image product, and Infiniti is betting that statement cars still matter. BMW dominates the compact premium coupe segment with the 4-Series, followed by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe. The Q60 coupe is a strong product − a striking, powerful, technology-laden grand coupe − but the brand's overall lack of consistent market performance and relevance may hold it back.
Infiniti has held a global media event to introduce the latest iteration of its premium coupe, the Q60, attended by IHS Automotive. The current Q60 iteration involved simply a name change from the G37, while the 2017 model-year Q60 is a substantial mid-cycle update to the car, sharing underpinnings with the Q50 sedan. IHS Automotive attended the Q60 media drive event, after attending a similar event for the Q50 in February.
The new Q60 comes to the market offering several powertrain choices, including a new 208-hp 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine and two versions of an all-new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6. The Red Sport 400 (identifiable by a red S in the Q60 'S' badge on the decklid) offers 400 hp, while the Silver Sport (with a silver S in the Q60 'S' badge) offers a 300-hp version. The 2.0-litre engine offers a fuel-economy friendly, low price point option, and the direct-injection turbo gasoline (petrol) engine also receives stop-start.
The new Q60, Infiniti told us, is "designed to perform". Infiniti head designer Alfonso Albiasa said in a video presentation describing the importance of the vehicle to Infiniti, "I think the timing for the Q60 is perfect, as we are starting to unroll our new brand positioning one of the first cars to go on sale is the Q60, which is a really condensed version of all things Infiniti aspires to be: it's powerful, it's high quality and it has a high level of artistry − we can build all the other cars that are coming from this template." Infiniti says this car is meant to be a pure form of its updated brand values and DNA and it is intended to raise the Infiniti image, although the overused term "flagship" is not used to describe it.
Infiniti claims several key technologies for its new engine, which over time replaces the venerable VQ-series for the brand. The compact turbo system is mounted on to an integrated cylinder head, and uses a turbo speed sensor. Turbo lag is reduced and cooling made more stable through water-cooled charge coolers, while the engine uses a cylinder head with integrated exhaust manifold for improved efficiency; it offers a shorter flow path to catalysts and more rigidity than a traditional exhaust manifold.
As with the Q50 sedan, the Q60 coupe uses Infiniti's steer-by-wire system, Direct Adaptive Steering, tuned to deliver performance suited for the coupe, and adjusted for a more natural steering feel. Infiniti says the system is better for having the driver's input purely electronic, with responses faster than a conventional mechanical system and because it filters out unwanted steering vibrations; it does require fewer steering corrections, which subtly eases driver fatigue and effort. Those elements can leave it feeling a little disconnected, although this has been improved from prior versions. Perhaps most important about the system in the long run, however, is that it will prove to be a building block for Infiniti's (and parent Nissan's) future autonomous drive systems.
Common for vehicles in this class, the Q60 offers the driver the ability to select from pre-programmed driving modes or to set up his or her own. The modes include Personal, Sport +, Sport, Standard, Eco, and Snow. The Q60 also offers an up-level suspension set-up, called dynamic digital suspension. Infiniti says that this monitors body roll, pitch, and bounce rate, adjusting the dampers to ensure a flat, stable, and controlled ride. In Sport mode, the system is set for a more firm ride, with a softer set-up in Standard mode.
The Q60 coupe benefits from Infiniti's advanced driver assist technologies, including active trace control for smoothing and correcting a vehicle's cornering line. Infiniti has had a strong suite of advanced driver assist technologies for several years, really being a leader in this space from the beginning. The Q60's equipment adds predictive forward collision, active lane control, and blind-spot intervention to an already long list of driver assist features. While one of the strongest improvements in the 2017 Q60 is to the infotainment system, this is an area in which Infiniti seems to be keeping up with the competition, rather than making a mark.
Outlook and implications
The 2017 Infiniti Q60 coupe will be a relatively low-volume entry, being introduced against the backdrop of a market with an increasing preference for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) from luxury brands. Even so, vehicles such as the Q60 do provide an attractive, affordable image product, and Infiniti is betting that statement cars still matter. BMW dominates the compact premium coupe segment with the 4-Series, followed by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe. The Q60 coupe is a strong product − a striking, powerful, technology-laden grand coupe − but the brand's overall lack of consistent market performance and relevance may hold it back.
Along with the BMW and the Mercedes-Benz, this group includes the Audi A5, Lexus RC, and Cadillac ATS coupes, with all but the Lexus offering sedan or four-door counterparts. The Q60 follows a similar formula, with a broad range of engine options, including at least one with a healthy performance output. For the Q60, this is the 400-hp 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, which IHS Automotive drove.
An all-new Q50 sedan is due in 2019, according to IHS Automotive production forecast data, followed by an all-new coupe in 2020. In the latter half of the products' lifecycle, we forecast production of the Q60 and Q50 combined will slip to about 87,000 units in 2017 and 81,000 units in 2018.
Infiniti has history in this segment, with the prior two generations branded G35 and G37; Infiniti moved to a Q-based naming convention three years ago that still seems somewhat confusing. For Infiniti, this is part of the brand's traditional model range and a space in which it was rewarded with respect and solid market performance for its earlier efforts. IHS Automotive forecasts US sales of this new-generation model will peak at about 10,000 units in 2019; this is a healthy improvement over recent years and in a current environment that does not favour coupes, yet is still a shadow of the 28,000-unit peak of the G coupe in 2003. The change in fortunes has as much to do with a fundamental change in market preferences, as the top seller in this segment in 2019, the 4-Series, is forecast to see US sales at about 15,000 units.
The new Q60, Infiniti told us, is here to help redefine the brand, supporting a strategy teased earlier this year. Infiniti sees its "empower the drive" tagline delivered in the Q60 through three core DNA elements: daring design, a driver-centric approach, and forward technologies. The car expresses the attributes Infiniti looked to capture, particularly the design. The coupe (and its Q50 sedan counterpart) was designed after the Q80 Inspiration concept car revealed at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. The car offers a broad powertrain line-up, with the Red Sport 400-hp car we drove being both a comfortable grand touring coupe and a willing partner for spirited driving, as well as having a highly crafted interior. The car does lack the edge (and output) of an M4, ATS-V, or Mercedes-AMG, although it is unlikely that 400 hp is the most that Infiniti could draw from the engine, if it wanted more. The Q60 is full of technology, including a broad suite of driver assist technology and adaptive suspension, an advanced adaptive suspension, and advanced direct adaptive steering. This is Infiniti's latest generation of the Direct Adaptive Steering system − the first steer-by-wire system in production, according to Infiniti − tuned for the Q60.
However, Infiniti is also launching the QX30 subcompact SUV in 2016 and an all-new QX50 SUV in 2017, with the SUV teased by the 2016 Geneva and Paris motor show concept vehicles. These SUV products will be more significant to the brand's overall sales volume and its relevance to the larger market. It is refreshing that, with the Q60, Infiniti retains a place in its range for a coupe that offers great looks and a spirited drive, a vehicle one might desire simply for its own sake.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.