Infiniti digs into back catalog to revive its fortunes

With the new QX65 Monograph “sportback SUV” concept Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, has revived its most distinctive design in a bid to reverse declining sales, and give it a little bit of distinction from the parent brand.

The roof line, window graphics, and rear end of the QX65 are a clear homage to the FX (bottom), the car that arguably invented the coupe SUV genre.

Launched in 2002, the FX rode on the same rear-wheel drive platform as the Nissan Skyline and 370Z. With its long bonnet, lower-than-normal roof height, and swoopy rear, the FX sacrificed interior space for style.

CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal.

Unlike other crossover SUVs of the time, the FX emphasised on-road performance, and wasn’t worried that its off-road ability was limited to unpaved roads. While the V6 models generated most of the sales volume, the available V8 ensured the FX was able to live up to its swagger.

While the FX was a model unto itself with no direct Infiniti or Nissan siblings, the QX65 is the coupe version of the QX60 SUV, which is basically a Nissan Pathfinder in a fancy suit.

Not only does it miss out of the FX’s lowered roof height and V8 engine, but there’s no hiding the short dash-to-axle ratio inherent with cars using a front- and all-wheel drive platform with a transverse engine.

In addition to the revised rear end that likely eliminates the third row of seats, the QX65 also boasts a larger, bolder grille, a new split headlight treatment, and plenty of gloss black trim.

Like earlier Monograph concepts, the QX65 Monograph looks production ready, with the company stating we should “stay tuned to see the extraordinary made real in the coming months”.

The QX60 is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a variable compression turbo making 200kW and 388Nm that’s paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission.

Infiniti sales peaked in the US when it sold 235,788 cars in 2012. Back then it had fairly deep lineup of models, including the EX, FX, JX and QX SUVs, as well as the G sedan, coupe and convertible, and M sedan.

At this point, Infiniti was busy trying, belatedly, to take it to Lexus on the world stage. The brand was launched in Australia with a range that included the second-generation FX – later renamed QX70 – but sales both here and in Europe were meagre, and Infiniti retreated back to the US and China.

Since then the trend has been down with the marque shifting just 58,069 vehicles in the US in 2024.

With production of the QX50 SUV and QX55 coupe SUV set to stop by the end of the year, the Infiniti range will be reduced to just three models: the QX60, QX65, and the Nissan Patrol-based QX80.

MORE: Everything Infiniti