This concept signifies the future of the brand.
DETROIT, MI – Service from the bottom of one’s heart. A perfect way to describe the Japanese term Omotenashi, which is how the Japanese culture approaches hospitality.
It’s about being selfless and creating a welcoming environment where you feel looked after and all your needs are met.
When setting out to design the latest concept car, the QX Inspiration, Infiniti took this approach to hospitality and ran with it. It can especially be seen in the wide-open and airy cabin that does away with the B-Pillar and centre console tunnel that you see in almost every car today.
That central tunnel is there to incorporate various transmission and drivetrain components required for the operation of traditional fuel burning vehicles. By doing away with this the interior has more space for occupants and cargo.
In place of that tunnel, the designers have created a centre console table of sorts that extends from the front to the rear passengers and is crafted using Bianco Carrara marble. There are no gauges or traditional instruments but instead a widescreen monitor that will display everything a driver needs. A rectangular steering wheel gets its own screen as well.
Infiniti Executive Design Director Karim Habib said that his favourite part of the QX Inspiration concept is the roof that has a louvered design that lets just the right amount of light in while creating dynamic shadows as the car drives along.
Open the doors and occupants are greeted to a welcome mat in the form of lighting. Similar to what many manufacturers are doing today with puddle lights, just more elaborate. Front seats rotate up to 30 degrees to make getting in and out easier.
The idea here is the harmonious coalescence of luxury and technology and this ultra-modern lounge-like cabin exemplifies this and is a preview of what we can expect from Infiniti in the near future. Whether or not that translates to having a marble centre console remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Exterior styling of this crossover type vehicle takes full advantage of the fact that it will utilize an electric powertrain. A relatively short hood and a windshield that’s pushed as far forward as possible maximizes interior space. This is that cab-forward design, popular in the late 90s, taken to the next level. Like the Nissan IMs concept unveiled earlier, the design emphasis is based on straight lines and clean, elegant surfaces.
A deeply defined character line invokes the Japanese origami art of paper folding and the grille-less front end is clearly inspired by the very first Q45, which is, in my opinion, one of Infiniti’s best designs and it’s nice to see this nod to the past.
Powertrain details were scant at the time of this writing and probably haven’t been firmly established, but what we were told was that there will be dual electric motors, one per axle, and it will enable “blistering off the line acceleration” no doubt aided by the e-AWD system. A high capacity underfloor battery pack should make this a long distance cruiser as well.
As with any concept, what you see is usually not what you get on the finished product. But they did say that all Infiniti products will eventually resemble this and will have some form of electrification in the very near future. Think of the QX Inspiration then as a learning platform that the designers and engineers will utilize to push the Infiniti brand into the future. And by the looks of it, that future is bright indeed.
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