Infiniti Q60 coupe won’t get C63 and M4-rivalling hero model
Despite building its brand around performance, luxury brand Infiniti has no immediate plans for a properly hardcore version of its new Q60 coupe to rival the BMW M4 or Mercedes-AMG C63.
The new Q60 launched in the US this week with the top-shelf 298kW 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 model, due in Australia in the first half of 2017. The four-cylinder turbo model will be here even sooner, arriving later this year. (Read up on the Q60's specs here.)
The dramatically stylised Q60 coupe will serve as Infiniti’s brand halo, and compete with the BMW 440i coupe among others. Befitting the tech-heavy brand positioning, it sports steering-by-wire and adaptive ‘digital’ suspension.
But don’t expect anything hotter, says Infiniti’s global senior manager of product strategy Gerardo Carmona, speaking with us in California this past week. At least, not for now.
“That’s never going to be off the table, I’d say, because Infiniti is all about performance in a very sculpted and artisan way… but unfortunately it’s not going to come very soon,” he said.
“Again, everything is on the table, we have a lot of options within the R and D group, right now we’re actually focusing on the 400hp version, and don't have any big ambition for this car to compete with those you mention [BMW M4, AMG C63 etc].
“And the price is going to reflect that,” he added. “It’s a big ambition already… doing something more is never off the table, but we don't have it for the moment.”
The Hong Kong-based luxury car brand said this week that it was focused on making the Q60 hardtop a radical departure from its previous two iterations. As we reported separately, no convertible version is planned.
The Q60 coupe would therefore have seemed an ideal candidate for a proper hardcore version, with either an up-tuned version of the new twin-turbo V6 or something more.
Remember, Infiniti has hinted at a performance leader with the well-regarded Q50 Eau Rouge concepts, as well as numerous sexy concept sports cars such as the Emerg-E. Infiniti is also a hybrid partner of Renault Sport Formula One.
Infiniti, a subsidiary of Nissan to rival Toyota’s Lexus, and the segment-defining German luxury marques Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, is a small player globally, despite a growing global focus spearheaded by China (hence the Hong Kong HQ).
Australia
The Infiniti Q60 coupe will arrive in Australia near the end of this year in 2.0-litre turbo guise, with the flagship 298kW twin-turbo V6 Q60 version to arrive in H1, 2017.
Watch out soon for our first drive of the latter from the launch in California.
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