Manual transmissions and sedans are dying breeds, right? Tell that to Japanese luxury brand Infiniti.
Automotive News reports Nissan’s ailing luxury brand is getting a shot of adrenaline in the form of a twin-turbocharged V6-powered, rear-wheel drive sedan with the option of a manual transmission, called the Q50S.
It will replace the Infiniti Q50, a BMW 3 Series rival which exited production in 2024 after just over a decade, and it’ll debut in the US market in the second half of 2027.
The Q50S was reportedly teased at Nissan’s US dealer meeting in Las Vegas on August 20.
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Above: 2024 Infiniti Q50
A teaser shown to dealers reportedly showed a swoopy profile, slim headlights, and circular tail-lights – the latter a classic Skyline design cue that continues to feature on the current sedan.
Rather than engineering a new platform and powertrain, it’ll reportedly use components off the Nissan shelf – the platform of the existing Skyline (formerly known as the Infiniti Q50 in markets like ours) that’s sold in Japan, and the engine from the Z sports coupe.
The Z’s twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 was already borrowed from the previous Q50 Red Sport, and as in the defunct sports sedan it produces 298kW of power and 475Nm of torque.
In the Q50S, this engine could be tweaked to produce more than 336kW of power, with the Red Sport nameplate also potentially being dusted off. That would see it produce even more than the Nismo version of the Skyline, which pumps out 309kW and 550Nm.
Above: Nissan Skyline Nismo
The previous Q50 was never offered with a manual transmission, except when equipped with a turbo-diesel engine in Europe.
The only transmission available for petrol Q50s, and for its surviving Skyline trim, is a seven-speed automatic.
In contrast, the Z, which is heavily based on its 370Z predecessor, is offered with either a six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic.
Manual transmissions have become rare these days, even in this mid-size luxury/sports sedan segment. In Australia, your only option is stepping up all the way to a BMW M3.
Above: Second-generation Infiniti Q60
The current Skyline and Z are still based on the FM platform, which dates back to the V35-series Nissan Skyline of 2001. This was exported as the Infiniti G, a nameplate which lasted a further generation before being replaced by the now-defunct Q50 sedan and Q60 coupe.
Infiniti Americas vice president Tiago Castro described the redesigned Q50 to Automotive News as “unapologetic and unexpected”.
“It‘s an opportunity to connect back to the roots of the brand.”
“We just haven’t had the product,” said Vinay Shahani, Nissan’s sales and marketing chief in the US. “And now we’re coming to the table with the product.”
Above: First-generation Infiniti G35
Nissan sees an entry-level sedan as still being important for Infiniti to attract younger buyers, even as sedans continue to fade.
The Q50S could also connect with now middle-aged, predominantly male buyers who drove G35s and G37s in the 2000s and into the 2010s.
The previous Q50’s demise left Infiniti without a sedan in any market, and the subsequent confirmation of the end of production of its front/all-wheel drive QX50 and QX55 crossovers this year was set to leave the luxury brand with just three products going forward, all of them SUVs.
Infiniti teased an electric passenger car in 2022 that could have replaced the Q50, but plans for this model – along with an electric passenger car for Nissan – were reportedly scrapped earlier this year.
The brand has revealed various electric concept cars over the years, but has never put an electric vehicle (EV) into production.
Above: Infiniti QX80
The Infiniti brand has struggled in recent years, crippled by ageing product and strong competition. It announced in 2019 it would withdraw from Australia and Western Europe, and since then it has been limited predominantly to North America and China.
The US market, for which Nissan initially created the luxury brand, is a crucial one for Infiniti. But its sales there amounted to just 58,070 units last year, less than half its 2018 tally and below Honda’s premium Acura brand (132,367), Ford’s Lincoln (104,823) and Hyundai’s Genesis (75,003).
Infiniti launched a new QX80 flagship SUV last year, based on the new-generation Nissan Armada (coming here as the Y63 Patrol in 2027).
Earlier this month, it also revealed a concept version of its new QX65 ‘coupe’ SUV, which attempts to ape the styling of the FM-based FX/QX70 crossover SUV while being underpinned by the front/all-wheel drive platform of the three-row QX60 and Nissan Pathfinder crossovers.