Infiniti had a dealer conference in Las Vegas this week, and word is the brand invoked a few of our favorite things teasing a new model. Those being: rear-wheel drive, a manual transmission, and a twin-turbo engine. The Q50 is reportedly getting a reboot as a real, old-school sport sedan.
Automotive News reported some surprising and exciting intel today, definitively saying that a new model, badged Q50S, is slated for a late 2027 launch. Like previous Q50 sedans, it will be built on the Japanese Nissan Skyline Sedan platform. This time, it’ll run a version of the twin-turbo V6 that makes 400 horsepower in the Nissan Z. An even more powerful Red Sport (Infiniti’s performance branding) variant has already been mentioned as “being considered” as well.
I mean … wow. On one hand, it’s hard to believe a mainstream car company would make a big investment in a niche product in 2025. But at the same time, this is kind of exactly what Infiniti needs—a true differentiator from other luxury brands, and real reason for enthusiasts to pay attention to it. The stick-shift nostalgia play could totally hook well-off elder millennials and Gen Xers who have fond memories of ripping around in Maximas and G35s 20 years ago.
Right now, the ecosystem of manual-shift luxury cars in America includes the Acura Integra, Cadillac Blackwing, and what else? The BMW M2 still comes in stick, but that’s a two-door. Infiniti already has the platform with the Japanese Skyline, and the engine from the Z. Surely, that twin-turbo V6 could be juiced to make more power without much more than tuning and maybe some intake and exhaust adjustments. It’s not exactly low-hanging fruit, but the brand’s not starting from scratch, either.
As for just how real this plan is, Auto News didn’t hedge at all, and even included: “Infiniti Americas Vice President Tiago Castro described the redesigned Q50 as ‘unapologetic and unexpected,'” in its reporting. I shipped Infiniti’s people a line myself to see if they could confirm or add anything, and I’ll update this story if we get more information.
Looks like Infiniti is joining Stellantis in taking advantage of America’s current regulatory environment to fall back on old tech. I have mixed feelings about that broadly speaking, but a new stick-shift sedan sounds pretty cool.
“Infiniti teased the low-slung model in a video that revealed a swoopy profile, slender headlights and Skyline-styled circular taillights,” Auto News writes. Consider me extremely interested.
Got a tip? Fond memories of a stick-shift G35? Drop the author a note at [email protected].
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