Infiniti Vision Qe concept debuts a new face for the EV era

At a New Dawn event held in Tokyo on Tuesday, on the eve of Japan Mobility Show press days, Infiniti pulled the wraps off its Vision Qe EV concept. 

As a fastback sedan, the Qe wears a new Artistry in Motion design direction, as well as a double-arched grille. The Qe previews Infiniti’s first production EV, a “sleek sedan” to be made in the U.S. at Nissan’s plant in Canton, Mississippi, and it sets the tone for future electric models from Nissan’s luxury brand. 

That includes a QXe concept electric crossover also in the works, shown in the background of a teaser photo depicting a lineup of future models. From that image it’s clear that the taller crossover companion model will follow some of the same design cues and wear a version of the same new face; it’s also set to include “a suite of advanced technologies,” according to Infiniti.

If these concepts look similar yet very different, they’re part of a reboot of the brand, after another recent Infiniti EV reboot never gained traction. That change in direction had been at least partly spurred by a decision not to position much of the model line around series hybrid technology.

As part of this new design approach, the brand’s designers looked to forms that “looked like abstractions of a bird in flight—powerful, almost motionless, but generating such speed,” senior VP for global design Alfonso Albaisa said in a release.

For the Qe, the profile is sleek and low but with tapered yet muscular rear fenders, he explained. To that, up close in person, the Qe’s rear styling reminds Green Car Reports of the J30, a cult favorite in Infiniti design history.

The wheel design follows a geometric pattern inspired by the tightly wound coil within an electric motor, with a warm gold color serving as a nice contrast against the dark Shadow Blue body color, also containing gold highlights. The brand’s renewed design identity, Infiniti says, is anchored around these two blue and gold hues.

The Qe also gets a new grille that Infiniti says has been “reimagined for the EV era,” with bright LED illumination and lower front-fascia sculpting. A gold-hued “digital piano key” lighting signature is echoed at the front and rear, with a new 3D Infiniti emblem at the front and slender headlights and taillights both connecting and accenting the vehicle width. 

Infiniti didn’t yet say anything yet about the interior, and it hasn’t yet given any dimensions for the Qe. But in person it appears to be about the same size as the former Q70, a sedan that was about 195 inches long in its standard form or 201 inches long in Q70L guise.

Alongside the Qe, Infiniti previewed a three-row QX80 SUV flagship due next year and following closely on the QX Monograph concept first shown at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California in August. Infiniti says that it will keep that profile and minimalist look on the outside, pairing it with “opulent materials” and “extraordinary comfort.”