Infiniti, Nissan's luxury brand, continues to show off ideas for the future. The Q80 Inspiration here in Paris is an excellent piece of work, perhaps a concept elegant enough to make us forget that Infiniti's former Hong Kong-based president, Johan de Nysschen, moved to take over General Motors' Cadillac car brand in July and Infiniti chairman Andy Palmer is the new CEO at Aston Martin, the British luxury car brand. The Q80, if it becomes reality, will be brought to market by Infiniti's new boss, former BMW (another famous car brand )executive Roland Kruger. He should focus on this, at least until he is head-hunted to another company. The Q80 Inspiration is a low and sexy four-door fastback, and it is also a showcase for technology - from autonomous driving to eco-friendly power trains. Here in Paris, the Infiniti people say the hybrid drive in this concept suggest exactly where the brand is going in the future. The company says the Q80 speaks to how Infiniti plans to pull people into more expensive cars - cars that compete with the Porsche Panamera, for instance. Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti Executive Design Director, said the car "delivers feminine elegance and muscular menace in equal measure and strikes big in terms of styling, craftsmanship, choice of materials and attention to detail." Most importantly, for luxury cars buyers who are increasingly puzzled by all the technology, the designers focused on making things simple. "There is a tendency with modern design that every time you add interior features and technology you add complexity," said Albaisa, pointing to the concept's easy-to -understand -and -operate infotainment interface. As for power, the Q80 Inspiration gets 550 horsepower from a twin turbocharged 3.0-litre V-6 combined with a hybrid electric power train. Fuel economy could be as good as 5.5 litres/100 km. Who will take charge of the launch of the Q80 Inspiration?
Andy Palmer Alfonso Albaisa Johan de Nysschen Roland Kruger