INFINITI celebrates 30 years of looking forward

This year INFINITI celebrates 30 years of looking forward. Since its launch in November 8, 1989, INFINITI has introduced new technologies, daring designs, and innovations that have delivered significant advances in the automotive industry. The brand now lays out its future vision as it moves into the era of electrification.

“In 2019, we are marking over three decades of INFINITI history by looking to the future,” comments Mike Colleran, Vice Chairman, INFINITI Motor Company. “Our approach has never been to adopt a nostalgic view of the past, but we are nevertheless proud of what the brand has achieved in the last 30 years. We have launched world-first driver assist technologies and performance hybrid powertrains. We have designed cars which have led to the creation of all-new global vehicle segments. We even rewrote the rulebook around customer care, with a model that delivered the first total ownership experience to customers.

“As we look ahead to the future, we will capitalize on a range of exciting opportunities to re-establish the INFINITI brand’s reputation for innovation and challenging convention in the premium car segment,” continues Colleran. “We will deliver thrilling electric and electrified powertrains, performance-enhancing driver assist technologies, and a range of vehicle designs unlike anything else on the road. For 30 years, the INFINITI logo has reflected our desire to look to the road ahead. While we take a brief look back at what we have achieved to-date, we are just as excited as ever about the opportunities that lie ahead for INFINITI.”

Horizon Task Force
INFINITI was conceived from an exclusive team in Japan called the Horizon Task Force, established by Nissan Motor Company in 1985 to occupy a void in the luxury car segment. The brief, ‘Luxury, redefined’, led to the creation of a brand which placed greater importance on delivering a personal and rewarding driving and ownership experience than any other premium car maker.

More than simply selling a car, INFINITI has always offered a total ownership experience. This meant being the first vehicle brand to offer loan vehicles to owners dropping their own cars off for service, as well as trip interruption protection and roadside assistance. INFINITI blazed a trail when it introduced these ownership benefits in 1989, many of which are now taken for granted by buyers in the volume and premium segments. INFINITI maintains this ethos today, offering customers an award-winning ownership experience which has evolved to meet changing customer needs and expectations in key markets around the globe.

World-first technologies
For 30 years, INFINITI has had technological innovation at its core, with a history of developing world-first technologies that have enhanced owners’ driving experiences for the last three decades. The brand remains true to this ideal today.

From launching the world’s first fully-active suspension in 1989, INFINITI has since introduced a series of world-first driver assistance technologies such as the RearView Mirror or back-up camera (2001), Lane Departure Warning (2005) and Around View Monitor (2007).

This innovation has extended to the powertrains found in INFINITI cars, such as the brand’s award-winning naturally-aspirated, performance-hybrid and twin-turbo V6 engines. Most recently, INFINITI launched the world’s first production-ready variable compression ratio engine, dubbed VC-Turbo.

INFINITI now enters its fourth decade with a renewed vision for innovation in which driver empowerment goes hand-in-hand with high-performance electrified power. Future models will offer drivers a choice of electrified powertrains as the brand embraces new technology to propel its vehicles. These comprise fully-electric powertrains, as well as a gas-generated EV system in which a VC-Turbo engine generates electrical power delivered to all four wheels through a pair of high-output electric motors (known in Nissan as e-POWER). These electric all-wheel drive (e-AWD) powertrains will deliver the high performance and complete range confidence that buyers are coming to expect from premium car manufacturers. The brand’s new ‘two powertrains, one platform’ approach to model development will also see the roll-out of dedicated platforms which can accommodate both fully-electric and gas-generated EV powertrains.

Electrified by design
Throughout INFINITI’s 30 years in existence, design has been a crucial factor in the popularity of its cars, and the reputation INFINITI has established. From the brand’s launch to the present day, cars such as the Q45 and the FX have broken the mold with powerful, elegant, segment-defying designs.

Powertrain electrification will also lead to a revolution in design too. INFINITI’s new form language for the era of electrification, ‘powerful serenity’, will lead to the creation of production cars that look as progressive, serene and powerful as their electrified powertrains. Inspired by the culture and modern architecture of Japan, INFINITI’s home country, the brand’s designers are working on a series of striking, expressive designs.

Due in the early 2020s, these cars are informed by the brand’s most recent concept vehicles, such as the 2019 Qs Inspiration and QX Inspiration. With a memorable visual identity, and spacious, lounge-like cabins enabled by new electrified powertrains, future INFINITI designs will continue to challenge accepted norms in the same way the brand’s cars have always done.