I ’m sipping my coffee , alternate my gaze from the incomparably beautiful SoCal beach in front of me and the stunning and thought - elicit ocean of Infiniti Q60s parked just below where I ’m standing . I have a job : after spending an full Clarence Day driving Infiniti ’s newQ60 Red Sport 400 , I fight to find another machine to compare it to , exactly .
On newspaper , this is a sumptuousness sport coupe that go away head - to - caput with the likes ofBMW ’s 440i , Audi ’s S5,Lexus ’s RC 350 F - Sport , and every other luxury two - door starting in the $ 50,000 range and end in the mid-$60,000s . This is heatedly contested sward , and that Infiniti instantly stands out : the Q60 Red Sport 400 value the carrying out that buyers will periodically appreciate , but never at the cost of the luxury that they ’ll experience day by day .
What is it , exactly ? Well , " Red Sport " denote the addition of beefed up brake and temporary removal that have become de rigueur in its course , while 400 is an open consultation to the prodigious baron the car wields – which is importantly more than the conjecture contention . Many sea mile of road pass before I ultimately solve the Red Sport ’s riddle : this is n’t a sports coupe at heart , but rather a good , one-time - fashioned grand tourer – quite unlike the others . And it ’s a cursedly good one .
Aaron Miller/Thrillist
This is the GT car that almost no one is building
A proper , legitimateGrand Tourer– not a outdo - up option grouping label GT out of convenience – allow first and foremost a lavishness experience in a two - room access package . Every aspect of a GT car , from the design , to the auditory sensation , to the overall driving experience , must have a certain degree of intrinsic beauty . I believe this car extend that .
The twin turbo V6 ’s 400hp will get you to hurrying punishable by jail time with effortless alacrity .
What it doesnotoffer , however , is the unapologetic sportiness you ’ll happen in corresponding BMW , Cadillac , or even Lexus . Quite only , the philosophical thrust of the Q60 Red Sport 400 has more in common with the larger grand touring car like the6 - Seriesor Jaguar ’s dearly departedXKthan it does with its " sumptuousness sports coupe " rivalry . If you ’re planning on taking your car to a raceway track , move right along ; even Infiniti administration will recite you this is no track - solar day toy . If , however , you ’re front for a very comfy car to labour to and from work , and to have the episodic explosion of right fundament fun on the highway , then Infiniti ’s newest two room access needs to be on your short leaning .
Its looks are almost perfectly polarizing
When it comes to cars , recent research exhibit that most vendee are depend for something that ’s different from everything else on the route … but nottoodifferent . Let ’s start with the Q60 ’s design , then , because more than most , the looks more or less define the rest of the Infiniti ’s experience . The lines on the Q60 leave very little elbow room for equivocalness : either you buy into its sharply glaring aspect , headlights reminiscent of human eyes , and combination of acute angles and graceful curve , and you see this thing as an artful expression of the exemption of driving . Or it ’s not for you .
The truth is cameras do n’t do it justice : in soul , it ’s a beautiful car .
The interior is a tech-savvy approach to luxury
Whether you ’re speak football , mathematics , or self-propelled plan , nailing the fundamentals is crucial to achiever , and to that end , this is a straight - up well-heeled car . discover the perfect seating billet is gentle , though the deep chiseled buckets do n’t coddle you quite as well as their looks would advise . The line conditioning is a surprising standout , sustain things coolheaded without ever feel like it ’s intruding on your experience , even on a warm Clarence Day .
The tech , though , is what bring the Q60 ’s interior to the fore . Twin touch sensation screens are a overnice , ahem , tactile sensation , though anything but the clean of hand will introduce daub awfully rapidly . The usable Bose speech sound system is worth every penny , and continue the kind of clarity throughout the range that ’s commonly reserved for the next jump up in price . Also cool than you might think : the silvery optical character trim , which is a fresh choice to C fiber . It clear up the cabin while retaining the astuteness that you could only get from a character weave .
… and so is the driving experience
Play with the carte on those tinge cover long enough , and you ’ll be able-bodied to configure more than a hundred different drive mode options . In accession to the now - ubiquitous gas and suspension fitting , the Q60 comes with the option of the second generation of Infiniti ’s Direct Adaptive Steering , or DAP . fundamentally , it ’s a manoeuvre - by - conducting wire organisation , which means that the guidance wheel is only connected to the front wheels via a spare mechanical safety connection . In English , that means that the steering wheel is essentially a joystick , and you could customize how far you have to turn it . The literal welfare is that Infiniti ’s engineers get to pick and choose what road sensations you pick up on , so theoretically , you get to skip all the minor road imperfections and only feel the authoritative stuff . For 95 % of buyers , that ’s gon na be a serious thing .
It’s equally at home on the morning commute or weekend day trip
When left in its most tame preferences , the Q60 is quite a pleasant gondola to labor , even in horrendous dealings . The outside world remains quiet in the ride ’s softer setting , but it does n’t become so piano as to introduce inordinate movement move from stoplight to traffic signal . The semi - autonomous braking and direction feature do their Book of Job well , but not so well that you could rely on them – which isa very , very in effect thing for condom .
The Red Sport 400 ’s best political party trick , though , is the ability to go from a docile , comfortable daily driver to the form of machine you ’d really desire to expend all Clarence Day in on the highway . Abandon any mother wit of discretion with your right foot , and the twin turbo V6 ’s 400hp – engineers designate that numeral ’s actually on the modest side – will get you to speeding punishable by jail metre with effortless alacrity . When the winding bits beckon , the frame feel eager and well - balanced . The car seems to enjoy a brisk jaunt through mountainous terrain , but once you pick up the pace , the disconnected nature of the DAP sincerely becomes an Achilles heel . If you ’re part of the five percent of equipment driver who would list steering palpate as crucial to your automobile buying operation , skip the DAP .
In a crowded market, it definitely stands out
Yes , it look different from the contender – but not so much so that it ’s a pitch-black sheep . Where the Red Sport 400 really digest out is in car ’s basic missionary post to add in options of elevated performance without disrupting daily luxury . That sumptuousness - first orientation course has n’t existed at this price power point in a longsighted time , and Infiniti has unquestionably filled an underserved col in the market . If sale of the Q60 Red Sport indicate that the market for this car is more than a niche , we could be take in a trend shift emphasizing luxury over sport across other carmakers , too .
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Aaron Miller/Thrillist
Aaron Miller/Thrillist
Aaron Miller/Thrillist
Aaron Miller/Thrillist
Aaron Miller/Thrillist
