Infiniti promises an elegant SUV

The designer responsible for the future of Infiniti is promising he can conjure an elegant SUV as a headline act for the Japanese luxury car-maker’s line-up by 2020.

Karim Habib has been charged with writing a new design story for Infiniti after arriving from BMW just over a year ago, and part of his brief is to make something special for the SUV range that currently dominates the brand’s sales in Australia and beyond.

Habib’s first work for Infiniti was the Prototype 10, which was unveiled at Monterey Speed Week in the US last month, but the retro-styled single-seater sports car is a world away from his thinking on future SUVs.

“We believe we can make an SUV that's elegant, and sporty, and sensible,” he revealed to motoring.com.au.

“I think there is an opportunity to rethink it a little bit. To create something that’s as sexy as a coupe or sports car.

“But, at the same time, it’s still going to be an SUV. We don’t want to disguise it as something else.”

In Australia, where it has sold just 445 vehicles to August this year (down almost 14 per cent on the same period in 2017), Infiniti currently sells the small QX30 and large QX70 crossovers, plus the full-size QX80 SUV based on the Nissan Patrol.

The all-new QX50 mid-size SUV is due on sale here in mid-2019, followed by a replacement for the QX70 – Infiniti’s answer to the BMW X5.

Habib’s Prototype 10 is inspired by historic racers but the real background to the car is the electric powertrain under the bodywork, most likely from the latest Nissan LEAF EV, as Infiniti promises every new model from the company will be electrified.

“The biggest picture is that Infiniti is going electric and this car [Prototype 10] is meant to be fully electric,” Habib says.

“With this car, our intent is not just to show the pretty lines but to show what the brand can be, what it should be. In the context of electrification, it makes our role in design much more significant.”

With the SUVs and electrification at the top of his agenda, Habib knows he faces plenty of challenges at Infiniti.

“There are a lot of risks. But there are a lot of opportunities,’ he said.

“We are a smaller company. We build 200,000 cars [annually]. And design is very much implicated in creating the identity of the brand.

“We are a challenger brand. We want to grow. We want our place at the luxury table. And we do believe in electrification.”

Habib talks enthusiastically about Infiniti’s roots in Japan since its creation in 1989, even though his previous experience was focussed on European prestige brands.

“I think that’s important, to be present in Japan. It’s a country that’s done incredible designs, with incredible culture.

“I’m also learning that in Japan it’s not necessarily the same way. Sometimes the ornament is just as important as the overall proportions. The materials are as important as the volumes.

“We want the brand to be about Japanese luxury. For us, that means a sense of restraint, a sense of composure, but at the same time a lot of warm and humanity.”

He recognises that his time at Infiniti is pivotal for the brand, which is still struggling for an identity in the crowded luxury space.

“There are a lot of changes we want to implement. We are a luxury brand, a small luxury brand, and we use this famous quote ‘We want to be everything for some people, but not something for everyone’.

“I’m convinced that’s the only way to make a difference. There are such a lot of good cars out there, so why make something like all the others? We need to bring something new and valuable.”

Habib’s first full-scale production car is still more than two years away but he is prepared to give some hints about what he has planned for Infiniti.

“We are defining it now. We have found what want to achieve and we’re trying to figure out how to achieve it.

“The first things start arriving in 2020 and then in 2021 we will see the new generation.

“We don’t have a gigantic portfolio. Our most important thing is going to be have one language that defines Infiniti.”

Looking beyond design and considering the electrification and autonomous revolutions, Habib is optimistic about the future of the automobile.

“What a car means is changing quite dramatically. It’s less and less about being a status symbol.

“The reality is that it’s alive and kicking, but at a much higher level. People don’t want to look stupid in their car.

“But I don’t think it will make it any less important to be well conceived and well executed.”