After much teasing and waiting, Infiniti->ke36 has unexpectedly released the first images of the Q60 Concept ahead of the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It’s now clear to see Infiniti’s latest concept gets much of its design styling from the 2015 Q80 Inspiration and 2014 Q50 Eau Rouge concepts already in the public eye.

While many of the design details and styling cues are borrowed, Nissan’s->ke62 premium brand’s newest concept departs the sedan-type architecture for a smaller, 2+2 Coupe layout. This puts the Q60 Concept right in competition with the BMW 4 Series,->ke3834 Audi A5,->ke1188 Cadillac ATS coupe, Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe, and the Lexus RC.->ke4751

We expect Infiniti to announce more details about the Q60 during its official debuting on Tuesday, January 13th, but aren’t expecting news about its drivetrain, price, and on-sale date -- mostly because it’s still in concept form. Those details will come when (or if) Infiniti pushes the Q60 coupe into production.

Even still, we love to speculate. The current Q60 coupe features a 3.7-liter V-6 that’s worth 330 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. The new generation would surely see at least a moderate boost to those numbers. A hybrid->ke147 version is also in the realm of possibilities, utilizing the smaller 3.5-liter V-6, a bank of batteries, and electric motors.->ke1030

Whatever the details and specifications, expect Infiniti to move the Q60 Concept into production as a replacement for the current car. What’s more, since the current Q60 is a derivative of the Nissan 370Z,->ke3043 it’s highly likely the Infiniti’s platform will underpin the next Z-car as well.

Updated 01/05/2015: With just a week before its official debut at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, Infiniti dropped the first official image and details on the upcoming Q60 Concept. Click past the jump to read the new details.

Updated 01/12/2015: The new Q60 Concept made its world debut at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Click past the jump for the new full details.

Updated 01/23/2015: We've added a series of new images from the car's official debut at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Check the new images in the "Pictures" tab.

Click past the jump to read more about the Infiniti Q60 Concept.

2015 Infiniti Q60 Concept

Specifications
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  • Model: 2015 Infiniti Q60 Concept
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Pros
Cons

Update History

Updated 12/12/2014: Infiniti revealed the first teaser image on the future Q60 Concept. While the picture does not reveal much, it offers us a glimpse of the concept's muscular lines and its overall proportions.

Exterior

The Q60 Concept is low, wide, and aggressive. Its low-slung roof, high belt line, and sucked-in waistline impart an athletic feel with a certain high-class businessman face in its grille. The car’s inspiration really shines through up front. The lower air dam takes on the same F1 look as the Q80 Inspiration concept. The Q60’s grille shares a similar shape, but is less bold than the Q80 -- think “production ready.” Around the sides, the Q60 coupe gets the same gills and accent lines as the Q50 Eau Rouge.

The combination of front scoops and side vents suggests the car will be a hot performer and will likely be functional, cooling the massive brakes behind the 21-inch wheels.

Exterior Dimensions

Length

4690 MM (184.6 inches)

Width

1865 MM (73.4 inches)

Height

1370 MM (53.9 inches)


Interior

Infiniti at this time hasn’t released any image of the Q60’s interior, but has divulged a few details in the release below. Infiniti describes the interior as being high-quality and with a meticulous attention to detail. It includes things like hand-stitched leather and carbon-fiber accents. Sport seats are said to be comfortable yet supportive for high-speed driving. The seats apparently have thin backs as Infiniti says they help increase rear passenger legroom.

Design-wise, expect many of the same details and features found in the Q80 Inspiration to make their way into the Q60 coupe. However, I suspect the cockpit will have more traditional controls than the Q80, as the Q60 is likely headed to production.

Drivetrain

As mentioned earlier, the Q60 coupe may come powered with an updated version of the current Q60’s 3.7-liter V-6. While neither Nissan nor Infiniti has confirmed this, it only makes sense. Currently the engine develops 330 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. Upping outputs to say 350 horses and 300 pound-feet would put the Q60 above the BMW 435i’s outputs and close to the Audi A5’s.

My fingers are crossed that Infiniti will still offer the six-speed manual transmission found in the current Q60. Beyond rowing your own, the seven-speed automatic will likely make the generation jump with the 3.7-liter V-6.

Drivetrain Specifications

Petrol engine

3.0L -V6

Petrol engine induction type

Direct injection, twin turbocharged

Petrol engine valves

24-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing

Transmission

7-speed automatic


Prices

The current Q60 spans a gambit of $10,000 with prices starting at $40,950 and ending at $49,650 before options. Judging by the upgraded materials and its suspected higher levels of performance, Infiniti may increase those prices slightly to compensate. Pricing can’t jump too high, however, or the Q60 will be overpriced against its competition.

Competitors

BMW 4 Series

Every sports coupe looking to make an impact in Europe must deal with BMW. It’s a task far easier said than done since BMW can just roll out the 4 Series and be done with it.

First introduced in November 2013 as an all-new model, the 4 Series has quickly established itself as one of the most popular Bimmers in the market today. The car’s combination of dramatic styling and trademark German engineering has earned the 4 Series a lot of praise in the industry. That’s a tall task for any model to overcome, let alone the Infiniti Q60.

Depending on how many engine options Infiniti offers with the new Q60, the 4 Series has its own variety to throw at consumers. It has a base 2.0-liter engine for the 428i that produces an impressive 240 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque, good enough to cover 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 second with a top speed of 155 mph. Meanwhile, the more tricked-out 435i features a 3.0-liter, inline-six cylinder engine that pumps out 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers allow the 435i to hit 60 mph in 5.5 seconds to go with a top speed of 155 mph.

The BMW 4 Series comes with a base price of $41,700 for the 428i before going all the way up to $48,950 for the top-of-the-range 435i xDrive.

Audi A5

If the Infiniti Q60 thinks that the BMW 4 Series is a tough competitor, it also has to deal with the Audi A5, or to be more specific, the next-generation A5.

It gets even tougher for the Q60 when you consider that Audi’s plan for the new A5 involves putting on a strict diet to shave as much as 220 pounds from its overall weight. The Germans plan to do that by using Volkswagen’s new MLB modular-longitudinal architecture as the car’s new platform, complete with a generous dose of aluminum to keep it light and tight.

The new A5 is also expected to carry the same engine lineup found in the current generation, albeit with output improvements to keep pace with the 4 Series and the Q60. Should that hold true, Audi is likely to include a 2.0-liter inline-four that produces 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque and a bigger, 3.0-liter, supercharged V-6 for the S5 with power output in the neighborhood of 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, right around the capabilities of the Q60.

While the next-generation A5 is still a little ways away, the current-generation A5 sells at a base price of $40,000 for the A5 before scaling up to $52,500 for the S5.

Conclusion

The Q60 Concept looks to be a great replacement for the current (and aging) coupe in Infiniti’s lineup. It’s updated chassis, looks, interior, and hopefully updated powertrain should make it’s a strong competitor against the stalwarts and new comers in the category. What’s more, those updated features will likely make their way under the next-generation Nissan Z-car.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available closer to the Q60 Concept’s official debut on January 13th.