You're forgiven if you missed the news: Infiniti's QX80 has won a pretty serious, and highly coveted award. J.D. Power christened it with its top, 2025 Reliability Ranking, outdueling brands you'd expect to grace that pinnacle rung, such as Lexus.Now, new for 2026, Infiniti is debuting a Sport grade of the award-winning QX80. Which isn't too surprising, since you can already get the QX60 with a Sport trim. And QX80 sales are booming, up nearly 50 percent so far this year. That's important, since Infiniti is paring its line, with only the QX60 as the other model carrying forward, for now.FYI, a QX65, which is a sleeker version of the QX60, should appear sometime next year and, critically, it will be assembled in the U.S., so it won't be as exposed to tariff effects as the Mexican-assembled QX50 and QX55.Meanwhile, what's the QX80 Sport all about? I got a sneak peek last month, and the embargo has just lifted on my discussion with Infiniti. Nope, I didn't get to drive the 2026 QX80 Sport, so here's what I know so far. New Face and Details TopSpeed | Michael FrankInfiniti blacks-out the grille and restyled it for the Sport trim, with an illuminated Infiniti logo. The bumper is also restyled, as is the rear bumper, with a spoiler effect at the lower front edge.The carmaker took the blacked-out chrome of the top, Autograph grade and adopted it throughout the Sport version of the QX80. Although I didn't get to see any Sport models except for the one in Grand Blue, which is basically midnight, you can also order the Sport model with a two-tone paint job.The Sport grade also gets a machined, 22-inch, super-ornate wheel that's not available on other grades of the QX80.TopSpeed | Michael Frank A Beautiful Cabin TopSpeed | Michael FrankProbably the biggest calling card, more than the exterior, is the Dusk Blue theme Infiniti is using on the Sport version of the QX80. It looks more purple in these shots, but in person, the hue is somewhere between purple and sapphire blue—and it's beautiful, and unique to the Sport QX80.TopSpeed | Michael FrankInfiniti officials also stressed that the two-tier screen system of the Infiniti QX80 is a major draw, because it divides climate and infotainment functions, so there's less need to swipe and tap to just turn up the heat or change the radio station. Google Built-In Comes To Infiniti2026 Infiniti QX80 Sport 25Infiniti also added GoogleBuilt-In as its infotainment operating system. This allows the driver to ask Google for directions—or to turn on the cooling seats. Similar to what we're seeing from Apple with CarPlay Ultra (first debuting with Aston Martin, but soon coming to Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia vehicles), carmakers are turning to the tech giants to offload some of the complexity of in-car systems. Sound System Cleverness TopSpeed | Michael FrankBoth Sport and Autograph grades of the QX80 get a 24-speaker, Klipsch sound system. The most innovative part of this tech is that it beams sound to the ears of both front passengers via in-headrest speakers. For vocals, or any sound ordinarily handled by, say, in-dash tweeters, that puts these higher-register notes right where your ears are. But the system is well tuned so that you're not getting trumpets blasting your eardrums to the detriment of the rest of the sonic picture.TopSpeed | Michael FrankLikewise, the system can also broadcast turn-by-turn directions through the in-headrest speakers, so only the driver hears them. And if you're taking a phone call, only the driver hears the caller's voice. I got to test this part out in the studio where I shot these images, and it's pretty extraordinary, because you can keep the music on regular volume for everyone else, but you get this cone of conversation wired to your brain. Cool It! TopSpeed | Michael FrankInfiniti is the only brand in the three-row luxury segment to offer what they're calling biometric cooling. This reads the temperature of rear seat passengers via an infrared beam in the headliner. If it detects that you're roasting back there, the climate system automatically decreases the cabin temperature for your venting and can also increase fan speed. The QX80 Sport Isn't The Armada NISMO TopSpeed | Michael FrankIf there's a miss here, it's in actually making the Sport trim sportier. The Nissan Armada and QX80 share a powertrain and chassis. Crucially, they share the same, twin-turbo, VR35DDTT 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged engine.TopSpeed | Michael FrankOn the Armada, that engine produces 425 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. On the QX80, horsepower is pushed to 450 (with torque remaining at 516 lb-ft). The QX80 Sport doesn't get the boosted 460 horsepower of the NISMO Armada, however, nor does it get the suspension revisions of that rig. And, no, none of the "sportiness" added in the form of trim was specifically designed for downforce or roadholding, as it was on the NISMO. This setup is strictly about looks.But does that mean that if you're looking for actual sportiness from this same, capacious design, you're going to cross-shop the Armada NISMO instead? TopSpeed's Take TopSpeed | Michael FrankThere's another word to drop here. The QX80 has gotten more expensive.2026 QX80 PricingIf you're in the market for a three-row luxury SUV you already know they don't come cheaply. But Infiniti's sales have been falling for the past few years and they're rapidly becoming a very niche brand. Volvo, also a niche luxury marque, has sold nearly as many XC90s this year as Infiniti has sold across the board.So, yes, Infiniti's QX80 is winning quality awards, and the Sport trim is slick, but the brand has a lot of work to do to win more customers, and that's going to be tough to do at this price tier.