Infiniti Qs Inspiration to spark a luxury sports sedan revolution

Infiniti is delivering on its promise to re-shape luxury motoring with its sleek Qs Inspiration concept vehicle.

But unlike many 'out there' cars of the future, the all-electric  Qs Inspiration – making its worldwide debut at Auto Shanghai 2019 – is already confirmed for production.

The four-door sports sedan drives on from Infiniti’s current line-up of sporty prestige cars, coupes and SUVs.

As the world heads towards the electric era, the Japanese maker believes that design will be a key differentiator for cars after generations where everything from performance to safety and economy were the keys to success.

Just as importantly, it proves that Infiniti is serious about challenging more-established prestige brands.

“Design will be more important in the future. Electrification will allow more parity in performance and so design will be a key battleground for hearts and minds of customers,” the design chief at Infiniti, Karim Habib, recently told Australian Business Traveller.

“Electrification seems to be the natural way of things. Cars will go on and we’ll see the biggest step change since the invention of the car over the next 10 to 15 years.”

“Technology advances are providing designers with more opportunities than ever – it’s an exciting time. This is a new golden age for automotive design – it’s an exciting time to be a part of this industry.”

The Qs Inspiration has been driven by its showroom future, with swoopy lines and a full-luxury cabin. It also reflects Infiniti’s new approach to a front-signature, as old-fashioned grilles become redundant without a radiator to cool a combustion engine.

One thing in the show car that will not survive for the road is its ’suicide’ doors, which hinge from the ends to reveal the cabin but lack the structure to survive crash-test regulations.

Production plans for the Qs Inspiration are centred on China, but the car’s showroom role is to lead the next generation of Infiniti models with a growing emphasis on electrification, which the company says "presents an opportunity to reinvent the Infiniti brand globally through high-performance, low-emissions models which offer a thrilling driving experience and total range confidence."

Paul Gover

As Motoring Editor for Executive Traveller, Paul Gover spends less time at his Gold Coast home than he does on the road (literally) test-driving the best of the four-wheel world.