Infiniti Wants A Piece of Magma, AMG, And BMW M's Pie

QX80 Could Handle More Power
Nissan America Chair Christian Meunier's first experience with the new Infiniti QX80 had him thinking one thing, he told MotorTrend. It needed a high-output version and, more importantly, he thought the SUV could support it.

2026 Nissan Armada NISMO-2757
Picture the 2026 Nismo Armada, which boosts the Armada's V6 by 35 horsepower to 460 in total, only more. If Infiniti was going to do a performance brand, he thought, it needed to be serious. Just a little more power isn't enough.

Infiniti has already shown us what that could look like. The brand teased a model called the QX80 Track Spec that bumped the twin-turbo V6 to 650 horsepower and 750 pound-feet of torque.

A few months later, it brought the 1,000-horsepower QX80 R-Spec to the SEMA show. That one packed a modified Nissan GT-R engine, was lowered, fitted with an intense body kit, and then was painted in a special Midnight Purple paint.

It was awesome, and Infiniti will never build it. However, Meunier said, it does signal Infiniti's aim to be different. And while a 1,000-hp Infiniti SUV isn't happening, a muscular QX80 just might.

Working On Feasibility Of 650-Horse QX80
Meunier told MotorTrend that Infiniti was in the technical feasibility stage of bringing the QX80 Track Spec to market. The company knows it is feasible for customers, and it knows buyers want it. So it needs to make sure that it can happen with enough of a performance boost to bother.

Nissan Americas chief planning officer Ponz Pandikuthira said that Infiniti needed to double power output to go after the likes of AMG, BMW M, and Cadillac V. That's why the Infiniti Performance Line, the company's previous attempt at faster cars, was a dud.

Infiniti QX80 R-Spec Concept SEMA 10
The best of those was a G37 with an extra 20 horsepower. Or the Red Sport Q60, which turned the Q60's engine from 300 horsepower to 400. Pandikuthira believes there's a market for a 650-horsepower QX80, which would be a shot firmly aimed at the Cadillac Escalade V. However, it would need more than just more big horsepower. It would need braking, handling, and other upgrades to be a go.

A final decision on the performance brand will probably be made next year, the report said. If it goes ahead, the QX80 Track Spec, whatever its production version is called, is set to be the first model and could hit dealers in 12 to 18 months.

What to call the new brand, though? Apparently, it will be something new versus resurrecting any old Infiniti performance name or drag up something else from the brand's past. It won't be a boring acronym, either. There is a short list, though, and Meunier has some favorites on it. You'll find out as soon as we do when the company chooses one.