Infiniti Q30 concept debuts before Frankfurt auto show

A concept of the new Infiniti Q30, a crossover hatchback that will go on sale in the US in 2015, has been unveiled ahead of a Frankfurt motor show debut.

Based on new front-drive platform developed by Mercedes-Benz for its A-class family, the Q30 features a slightly raised ride height, sweeping roofline and confident styling, all aimed at winning sales from younger buyers who are predicted to make-up 80 per cent of global luxury car-buyers by 2020.

'The shape of the Infiniti Q30 concept deliberately challenges categorisation. It is not a coupe, not a hatch and not a crossover so that it will appeal to younger customers who desire to disrupt convention,' says Johan de Nysschen, Infiniti president and formerly boss of Audi North America.

The Q30 concept is described as 95 per cent faithful to the 2015 production version on both exterior and interior styling.

Unusually the Q30 will be built in Britain at Nissan's plant new Sunderland, which will supply all global markets.

The styling is the work of a team led by Infiniti's head of design Alfonso Albaisa, a Cuban-American who worked at Nissan's design studio in San Diego earlier in his career.

The Q30's design started in California, but was developed by Nissan's global network of deign centres.

Albaisa describes the Q30 as having 'contours sculpted with fluidity' and the side profile as having 'artistry and and ambition.'

The Q30 has a pleasing rising beltline and sheet metal decorated with sharp-edged styling features. Infiniti's designers say these ambitious shapes can be pressed in production sheet metal and that manufacturing engineers in Japan are working flat out to make them a reality.

'The aim was to sculpt the panel surfaces as if they were hand-formed by craftsmen in an Italian coachbuilding workshop,' added Albaisa.

The Q30 concept goes a long way towards fulfilling earlier predictions that the production hatch will incorporate elements of the Audi A3 and Q3.

The A3 comes in the sweeping roofline and hatchback proportions while the Q3 is reflected in the raised ride height and slightly elevated driving position.

At 4.46m long, 1470mm high and 1850mm wide, the Q30 is 168mm longer, 83mm wider and 50mm taller than an A3. The driver's hip point is raised compared to the A-Class, and the overall height increased by 37mm compared to the new Benz.

The fact that the hatch wears a 'Q' badge from Infiniti's new naming scheme indicates that the company considers it a hatchback not a soft-roader. The latter would have been accompanied by a 'QX' designation.

The interior is also a break from tradition. Infiniti talks about 'dissymmetry' — also known as asymmetry—which its says 'orients design features like air vents and instrument clusters for more sculpted visual appeal'.

Infiniti is promising to put this expensive design — which requires double tooling for some components to allow both left- and right-hand drive variants — into production.

Infiniti also say it is striving to make the concept's high quality and well-finished interior a production feature.

About the show

The 2013 Frankfurt motor show will be held Sept. 10-22 in Germany. Premium automakers appear ready to try to outdo each other with eye-catching electric supercars. Green technology and fuel efficiency will take center stage on the stands of most automakers at the show. For news, reveals and photos straight from the floor in Frankfurt, check out our special Frankfurt motor show section here.

By Julian Rendell