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Gautam Sharma9 Oct 2014
NEWS

Infiniti Q80 Inspiration no show car fantasy

Prestige brand's chief designer Alfonso Albaisa explains some of the key design elements of Infiniti's latest concept
Infiniti chief designer Alfonso Albaisa says the Q80 Inspiration concept revealed at last week's Paris motor show draws on the airflow-management lessons learnt from the ballistic Q50 Eau Rouge that we sampled a couple of months ago, and he promised that much of what we see in the design study will translate through to showroom reality.
Infiniti product chief Francois Bancon has already confirmed the Q80 Inspiration is a pointer to a future rival for the likes of the Mercedes CLS, BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe and Audi A7, so the concept isn't mere flight-of-fancy stuff.
Existing Infinitis are hardly radical in terms of their styling, but Albaisa says the Q80 Inspiration concept seeks to reinterpret the brand's traditional design elements in a bolder and more futuristic fashion.
Some of the surprise-and-delight elements include eagle-wing-shaped headlights, suicide rear doors and a teardrop-shaped glass roof that appears to be an extension of the windscreen.
Despite these radical features, Alabaisa claims: "The design philosophy of this car is very consistent with all Infinitis."
He adds, "The management of the airflow was very much inspired by the Q50 Eau Rouge, and we also wanted to create a visual flow, so you get this beautiful buttress effect. It has a sense of seduction and disrupting the segment.
"At the front we have the double-arch grille, but now we have a more 3D texture, and the vanes all move up and down based on the cooling requirements. In the city, the engine needs to breathe, so the vanes open up, whereas on the highway they all close up – it's all done via sensors that sense road speed and engine temperature. So we have both beauty and functionality.
"As we move towards the next generation of [Mercedes-sourced] engines, they're much more powerful, so the cooling requirements are much greater. There are a few cars coming [from Infiniti] that when you see them, you'll say: 'Ah, I see what you meant about the grille'."
"You'll also see the body sculpting and rear end of this concept incorporated in a few cars we've got coming. So this is actually a realistic representation of our upcoming portfolio.
"The proportions of this car are almost classical – sweeping, long – but in this case shifted rearward. We're finding that as hybrid powertrains are getting more efficient, we can afford to stretch the car's dimensions to create more space. A three-metre-plus wheelbase isn't excessive when you consider the efficiency of the drivetrain.
"The balance of this car is quite unusual, and it's set up with a very strong shoulder and dropping body side, so it's tight and then it opens up.
"These are some of the things that are an expression of a new design language. We wanted to play with different layers. The chrome strips on the roof sweep towards the centre line and point towards the logo, 'celebrating' it in the process.
"Inside, the cabin has two personalities. The front is all about the driver, as all the shapes surround him or her, making them feel very much in command. On the other hand, the cabin's silhouette provides a lot of headroom. We've also used the contrast between white and black trim to create the effect of movement in the interior."
Although the cabin is radical by existing standards, Albaisa says some of the elements will translate through to production offerings, such as the shape of the instrument panel and the floating centre console that extends to the rear extremity of the passenger compartment.
"It looks like a show car that would be hard to do, but that's not the case. The tailoring aspect is already something that we're experimenting with in our high-end cars to create a new kind of premium environment."
To illustrate this, Albaisa points to the blending of smooth and suede leather (something he admits is already being done by other brands), plus the use of specially treated crackled leather that looks somewhat like snakeskin.
"Customers today aren't impressed simply by the use of good materials, they want to feel the hand of the artist." 
As regards timeframe, Albaisa says Infiniti will finish rolling out what he calls "this season of cars" by 2018. The next instalment in the rollout is an all-new Q60 coupe that will be revealed at the Detroit motor show next January.
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Written byGautam Sharma
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