NEW YORK: Infiniti has unveiled the QX80 Monograph, a new design study exploring upscale luxury and signaling Infiniti’s intention to further develop its standing in the large SUV segment.
The QX80 Monograph combines luxury with a commanding presence, and attempts to show off the high levels of space and utility for which the QX80 production car is known for.
It is a look at how the design of Infiniti’s large SUV could evolve in future. Originating at Infiniti’s design studio in Atsugi, Japan, and unveiled for the first time in New York, the QX80 Monograph is the expression of futuristic luxury SUV design.
“The QX80 Monograph represents a detailed study into our expertise of exterior design. QX80 Monograph shows our concept of luxury and style on the road, and is an exploration into how we could enhance our future Infiniti offering in the luxury SUV segment,” said Infiniti president Roland Krueger.
The concept applies the brand’s latest design language in a sculptural and artistic way, incorporating a mix of geometric and organic shapes to combine power with elegance.
The QX80 Monograph is over five metres long, almost two metres tall (including roof rails), and more than two metres wide (door mirrors folded). It appears longer thanks to character lines, in particular the strong, straight shoulder line that runs from the grille all the way to the rear of the car.
The headlamps extend into thin lights that wrap around the front corners of the hood and run along the wings, for a unique light signature from the front and in profile. The light bars running along the front wings end in sculptured rear-view cameras at the leading edge of the two front doors.
The face of the QX80 Monograph appears more powerful and purposeful, with large, functional fender vents delivering more air to the engine, flanking an aluminum chin guard. Enhancing its SUV credentials, an underbody cover runs the length of the floor, protecting the car’s undersides and aiding aerodynamic performance.
A thin strip of aluminum below the grille emphasises the car’s width and incorporates razor-sharp LED fog-lamps at each end for a modern, high-tech appearance. At the rear, defined horizontal lines highlight the car’s wide and powerful aura. The appearance of the sharper, thinner tail-lamps are mirrored in the wide twin exhausts, which feature a gloss-black aerofoil in between to encourage smoother air flow off the back of the car.
The doors open to reveal an integrated, brushed aluminum sill step to ease ingress and egress, while vents aft of the front and rear wheels provide a further distinctive metallic accent to the design. These vents could also perform a valuable aerodynamic function, evacuating turbulent and drag-inducing air from the wheel arches.
The QX80 Monograph’s blacked-out A-pillar sits flush with the side windows and windscreen, while the pop-out door handles are also flush with the bodywork. These elements give a cleaner appearance and help to minimise drag and wind noise.
The QX80 Monograph features the latest incarnation of Infiniti’s hallmark “human-eye” headlamps, raised high up in the front of the car, as well as slimmer, sharper rear combination lamps. The unique piano key design of the head- and tail-lamps enables individual LED elements to light up independently, providing an artistic application of the latest adaptive lighting technology.
The new interpretation of Infiniti’s double-arch grille is taller and wider, giving it a powerful new face, while a new grille mesh suggests a highly sculptural and technical form. The new mesh adds greater visual depth with a series of individual sculptures that appear linked together in a lattice. The crescent-cut D-pillar has been reshaped, its sharper and higher trailing edge enhancing the horizontal aspect of the QX80 Monograph’s upper body.
The QX80 Monograph features a frosted-effect paint finish, following positive feedback from recent Infiniti concepts completed with a similar effect. The desaturated colour and satin-like surface each suggest an unusual treatment of the metal beneath, providing a textured contrast to the gloss chrome and brushed aluminum elements around the concept.
Straight-spoke, two-tone wheels – 24 inches in diameter – are finished in chromium black with contrasting brushed copper elements. The outer edges of the wheels overlap the tyres, presenting the appearance of a 26-inch wheel and low profile tyres to complement the scale of the QX80 Monograph.
Keyword: Infiniti reveals what the future QX80 could look like