Infiniti Celebrates 30 Years of Excellence at Spaceport America
Nissan’s luxury brand invited TeamSpeed to experience the 2020 Q & QX lineup at ‘the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport.’
It’s a little hard to believe but Infiniti, the brand that helped bestow the untapped brilliance of Japanese luxury to the U.S. is now 30 years old. Time really does fly, doesn’t it?
TeamSpeed got a chance to hop into the the all-new 2020 QX60, QX50, Q50, Q60, and Q60-S Red Sport at Spaceport America in Madre, New Mexico. This 18,000-acre facility is FAA-approved for both government and private spacecraft launches, and is literally the only facility of its kind.
Miles and miles of runway and vast expanses stretch as far as the human eye can see, making this the perfect environment for some bona fide automotive giddyup. Brake tests, slalom courses, reverse courses, and an “off-road” course which was my favorite. We’ll get into all of that action in another article, so stay tuned for that.
For now, we need to talk about the real gem at the event—their commitment to gas-powered EVs as an electrification solution going forward.
Wait…Huh?
It may sound counterintuitive, but yes. Infiniti is currently working on two electric powertrains (one of them gasoline-driven) that will share the same platform. I know what you’re thinking: why not just call it a hybrid? Well the reason is simple. It’s not really a hybrid. It’s closer to a fuel cell vehicle. And this makes more sense to do.
The way it’ll work is like this: you have electric motors on each wheel that draw energy from a battery pack that is charged by a 1.5-liter, VC turbo, three-cylinder engine that produces the electricity. The engine isn’t connected to the wheels at all, so propulsion is fully-electric.
This is hardly a new concept, as these solutions are commonly referred to as “gas range extenders.” These gas engines typically pick up the slack where electric range will run out. In other cases, you could simply opt to use the gas engine and then use the electric motors as a backup. The difference is that Infiniti’s solution will always have both running in tandem.
The big upside to this is that you never have to manually charge the battery, and as a result, the car doesn’t come with a charging port.
A Brief Explanation of Infiniti
Let’s rewind a little bit and talk about the purpose behind the Infiniti 30 Years Forward event. Sure, they were celebrating a monumental period in the company’s history, but this gathering served as both a reflection of the past and a return to the “creative whitespace” they cherish so much.
As you know, Nissan launched the Infiniti brand back in 1989 where it made its world debut at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) of that same year with the Q45. However, the first television pre-release commercials they ever ran were based on appealing to the senses: rain drops, ocean waves landscapes, etc.
It was a wholly-different strategy compared to the repeated blunt force trauma other companies used to ram their products into people’s heads to coerce them into buying. However, the strangest part of it all was that they didn’t even have a single car in any of their advertisements.
Despite it being dangerously unconventional, it actually worked. As William R. Bruce, the then-vice president of Infiniti told the L.A. Times in a press statement “…the people who buy our cars don’t want to be insulted with pressure tactics or hard sell.”
So Why Do All of This in the Middle of the Desert?
This philosophy I mentioned earlier still remains true today for Infiniti, which brings us to present day New Mexico. Their logo is a figurative amalgam of two minds moving in tandem toward an infinite road, and their ideology of “always looking forward toward new horizons.”
That being said, it’s no wonder they chose Spaceport America, as the entrance to the central building looks nearly identical to their own logo when you view it from afar. This environment, though dry and cold from the elevation, is extremely beautiful. The views are absolutely stunning and they seem to go on forever. Infiniti likes to appeal to the senses first. This is no exception.
We were then given a tour of the facility, and though we’re pretty sure they trust us to be good humans, we weren’t allowed to to take our phones, cameras or any media-capturing devices while on the tour for obvious reasons.
Infiniti QX55
Much in the same way we weren’t allowed our personal devices on the tour, we got an exclusive look at the upcoming QX55 crossover due out sometime in 2020. While we can’t tell you about the specifics, it basically looks like a tighter, much sportier version of the QX50 with bigger wheels & tires, a sleeker roofline and an updated front fascia.
Though the teaser photo doesn’t give away too much, we can assure you that while the QX55 may appear smaller, it’ll sure pack a much bigger punch on the pavement. We’ll simply have to wait for the finer details to surface later next year, but we are no less excited!
Photos & Video by Derin Richardson
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