It’s rebuilding season for Infiniti. With a rapid sales slide over the past five years, a shrinking lineup, and even retail space consolidation, something needs to change. Is a concept car enough? No, but it might not be a bad move. Nissan’s premium division signed up to go hard for this year’s SEMA show but when it came to building a modified show car, someone realized that only one model in the range sat on a longitudinal architecture, and it’s the Escalade-rival QX80. A hilariously powerful full-sized SUV? Strange, but it still feels like a letter of intent.
So, how do you build a 1,000-horsepower Infiniti QX80? You start with the heart of a car that’s been discontinued. See, the 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 under the hood of a regular QX80 is a sibling to the 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6 in the Nissan GT-R, so Infiniti went next door and plucked a VR38DETT out of the parts bin. Of course, some additional modifications were required to pump out a four-figure output like bigger fuel injectors, aftermarket pistons and rods, and third-party exhaust manifolds that accommodate a larger set of Garrett turbochargers.
Yeah, production feasibility’s pretty much out the window for this one, especially with a MoTeC ECU handling powertrain management, a machined adapter plate mating the VR38DETT with the nine-speed automatic transmission, and loads of additional fabrication from the intake system down to the exhaust system. I’m also not sure if I would trust the standard automatic transmission to handle the sort of torque a juiced-up GT-R engine can kick out, but hey, it’s for SEMA.
Power is great, but I’m actually more interested in all the work needed to get the QX80 R-Spec to sit low properly, starting with a set of Motion Control Suspension three-way adjustable coilovers. While most trims of regular QX80 ride on air suspension, this build uses the sort of high-end dampers and Eibach ESS coil springs you’d normally see on high-dollar trackday or restomod builds. For the record, a set of these coilovers costs more than I paid for my entire 335i, so while they’re expensive, they are quality pieces. Of course, seriously lowering a car introduces a host of geometry problems, most notably bump-steer. To combat the QX80 R-Spec trying to chart a new path over bumps, Infiniti’s relocated the steering rack and modified the knuckles to keep the tie rods in their happy zone. Oh, and then there are the carbon ceramic brakes adapted from the GT-R.
Plus, I can’t deny that the QX80 R-Spec looks pretty sweet. From the mad chunky overfenders to the extremely curbable front splitter, it looks like something you might actually see roll up to Daikoku Parking area. Sure, the eggplant-emoji hue is just a wrap, but the 24-inch wheels aren’t even that cartoonishly large now that GM lets you spec out an SUV on 24s right out of the factory. Still, considering this show car’s wrapped, it really makes you wonder just what’s going on here.
It just seems like Infiniti’s rolling out increasingly ridiculous one-off QX80s in an attempt to make people notice the brand again. Earlier this year, Infiniti boosted an example of its flagship SUV up past 650 horsepower to create the Track Spec concept for Monterey Car Week. It was an interesting experiment, but also one that people didn’t really ask for, but it seemed downright sensible compared to the R-Spec.
There is a point being made here, however. Remember the GT-R-powered Q50 Eau Rouge that never happened? The cancellation of that program marked a change in heading for Infiniti, which rose to prominence in the 2000s by putting performance first. For the past decade or so, Infiniti’s mostly been focused on slightly upscale crossovers, and that hasn’t really worked out for sales. Doubling down on fast concept SUVs may seem strange, but it also seems like Infiniti is starting to care about driving again, starting to remember why people bought all those G35s and FX35s twenty years ago. Now it’s time to actually prove it with more than a SEMA build, and with a stick-shift sports sedan reportedly arriving in the next two years, we won’t have to wait that long to see if Infiniti will back its word.
Top graphic image: Infiniti
Hard to believe those are 24″ wheels… but the truck is so big that they look more or less ‘normal.’ God forbid you bend a wheel on a pothole and/or catch a nail in the sidewall: taking care of that expense will feel like an extra mortgage payment. I like the purple of course. A stock Armada is among the least interesting vehicles to me personally, and a 1,000 horsepower show-car Armada is equally uninteresting, other than as an attention-seeking example of marketing. But again: I dig the purple.
I honestly wish that Nissan would just try to give American buyers some truly competitive smaller vehicles: a car yes, since those tend to be cheaper, but of course little crossovers with decent bones, good efficiency, and reasonable prices. Toyotas and Hondas seem so pricey now at the low end (yes, I know that adjusted for inflation, they’re not so bad) and that’s just worsened by dealer markups on popular models… I feel like that leaves an opening for Nissan to exploit.
The Micra EV (a Renault 5 in a Nissan suit) would be my personal choice for a U.S. release, but I know it’s super unlikely. I also think the new, third-gen Leaf ought to get a serious marketing push from Nissan… otherwise, it’s likely to get lost in the hubub and underperform in the U.S. market. Of course, the cost to federalize a vehicle for sale here is so significant that a manufacturer wants to feel certain they’re going to sell a lot of them… and the list of cars likely to sell in big numbers most every generation isn’t that big, and there are a lot of Toyotas and Hondas on the list, and very few Nissans.
I wish the cost to federalize an imported vehicle were much less, so manufacturers could opt to bring over niche vehicles when it could make financial sense to do so.
I like big comfy SUVs and I think the Armada ticks a lot of those boxes. I wish they were easier to find second hand, I had a really hard time finding one to test drive last year. The previous generation felt a bit hollow if I remember right, but the engine was pretty sweet.
Maybe although they have shelved plans for it, once they recover, the Titan can be resurrected with the turbo V6 of the Armada.
But its only a dream…
As the lonely resident Y62/Y63 fan on this site, I’m excited about this. The QX80 is a large, bold, dumb SUV that has never traded on subtlety. This SEMA toy is not going into serial production, but a lowered, tuned, aero’d QX80 certainly isn’t out of the question if the R-Spec get some excitement.
With that said… they are still missing a giant opportunity with some focus on the Armada as a
glamping cosplayOverlanding platform that offers out of the box capability that very few other large SUVs offer.I had forgotten how nice vehicles look when they have an actual color on them.
Well, count me as another “it looks like a bigger xB” take. Nothing about that is a bad thing, that thing looks awesome! Great call in going with Midnight Purple/ gold wheels!
This looks like something 15 year old me would have made in Need for Speed: Underground
I figured electrification would be part of the 1,000 HP figure, but apparently, I was wrong. I like the color, but I get an inflated Scion xB vibe from the shape.
And I should have read all the comments first, because there are numerous people saying the same thing about the xB vibe.
Hm I loved my old ’06 xB.
i had a friend with one. It was a fun car to drive.
I dig it, kind of a lot. Tickles the part of my brain that wants a trackhawk/TRX/raptor/2g Lightning/Typhoon/Cyclone… Useless, doesn’t really suit my situation, too expensive, and I’ll never own one. But I still *want* one.
I love it. Would daily.
I choose to ignore the haters in these comments. This thing is bitchin’. Its very much got xB vibes, which I never noticed before in the QX80, but I don’t consider that a bad thing. I quite liked the xB, so I’m ok with xtra xB.
Purple and gold is classic Nissan, so I don’t get people bagging on the color scheme as unoriginal. Its not supposed to be original. But damn its gorgeous.
I typically hate large SUVs lowered, but because of the xB vibes, this one totally works for me. I would drive the hell out of this with a big ol grin. But alas, even if they made it, I wouldn’t purchase it. I’m too cheap to buy new, so I would have to wait and hope to enjoy it a few years from now.
OK, can they reverse the trend of making Crossovers out of car into SUV and make a modern GTR out of the SUV.
Huh….who knew there was need for a Venn diagram for the intersection of “Infiniti Buyers” and “Lovers of the Scion xB”
The thrills of an xB – with a side order of a lifetime of obesity.
Color, oh the glorious color!!! What car is this? Who cares, I can’t get past the color!
Too many people on here are negative about this, but you have to understand that none of us have even thought about Infiniti in ages.
We don’t have to go out and buy one of these for it to be successful. They don’t have the resources to come out with a real halo car, so pimping out one of their (I assume) most profitable vehicles is not a bad move.
A lot of news outlets will cover it, even if it is just briefly, that’s more press than Infiniti has had in a while. First step is to remind people the brand exists, and then release some good products over the next year or so. That’s the important part.
I hope those future products use this same purple and gold color scheme because I definitely like it.
Haven’t people in the middle east been building this kind of thing on Nissan patrols for years? Maybe Nissan figures it might sell a few to people flexing money on sand dunes at hugely inflated prices. Or maybe they just want to show they can do it too. Make people forget about the rest of the Nissan situation.
(scratches head)
A purple Nissan with goldish wheels? Reminds me of a very specific CrossCab…
It looks like a an xB that got seriously shredded and swears up and down that it was solely the result of working out and not steroids.
Still won’t move the needle for Infiniti.
I really don’t understand why Nissan greenlit this in general. Aren’t they hemorrhaging money struggling to stay solvent as it is? Not to mention Infiniti has one of the worst and oldest lineups of any manufacturer right now outside of the new QX80. Even commissioning some production adjacent renders and models for a future car would do so much more for making the public at large care about Infiniti again.
While I don’t understand why, that purple with gold wheels is pretty a spectacular look.
the g35/350/370 is more or less the main affordable choice these days of youth enthusiasts and they likely want to capitalize some how on that and build some momentum. Sema and aftermarket parts market seem like low hanging fruit to me.