Infiniti plotting Q60

The world debut of Infiniti's Q60 Concept at last month's Detroit motor show was as cryptic as they come. We got to see the car in the metal, but some of the specs released by Nissan were not that clear.

The concept’s exterior, which incorporates more curves and bulges than Nicky Minaj in her Anaconda video, turned out to be a smokescreen for a bunch of specifications that were only half complete.

In Detroit, Nissan hinted that the concept would share the Q80 Inspiration concept’s twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 mated to a seven-speed automatic — a combination that media types agreed would generate around 298kW.

However, a source close to Infiniti now tells us that while the new Q60 coupe will employ the same Mercedes-Benz sourced 3.0-litre twin-turbo six, it will produce a more subtle 248kW (but a beefy 479Nm of torque) and will be bolted to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

But that’s just where the fun starts with the Q60. Buyers looking for a large choice of engines will salivate at what Infiniti will offer under the bonnet. In addition to the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, another Mercedes-built, twin-turbo 4.7-litre V8 delivering 304kW will lead the line-up.

Remember the high-performance Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge prototype we tested last year, complete with 418kW GT-R sourced twin-turbo V6? Our source reveals that Nissan bosses are considering replacing that engine with the 4.7-litre V8 to avoid a major redesign of the car’s front-end and its cooling mechanisms to accommodate the GT-R V6 in the engine bay.

While Infiniti gave a small group of media outlets access to an Eau Rouge prototype for evaluation late last year, the project was put on the backburner straight after that test session, when it was dropped into the 'too hard' and 'too costly' baskets. But when company bean-counters suggested Merc's twin-turbo V8 would work, the Eau Rouge project was restarted.

So while that opens the possibility of high-output Eau Rouge versions of both the mid-size Q50 sedan and the closely related two-door Q60 coupe, two other engines are strongly rumoured to join the Q60 range.

The two Mercedes powerplants will generate the most buzz, but our sources insist Nissan will also leverage its famous VQ engine series for its new coupe, in the form of naturally-aspirated 3.0-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 hybrid powertrains – at least for the US market.

Expect to see the Q60 in showrooms by mid-2016.