Infiniti QX65 Monograph Concept Reimagines the QX60 as a Fastback, New-Age FX
What if the three-row QX60 had a sexier two-row sibling? You're looking at it.
Infiniti's spicy FX crossover has been gone for years, but if the upcoming QX65 is any indication, it's going to be spiritually succeeded soon. Wait, what's the QX65, you ask? It's essentially a two-row version of the mainstream QX60 midsize three-row luxury SUV—think of the Audi Q8 to the three-row Q7. Just try to ignore the numerical inconsistency of the smaller SUVs wearing the bigger numbers in both cases. If you needed help imagining what a QX65, essentially a sexier QX60, might look like, Infiniti has pulled the covers off the QX65 Monograph concept during Monterey Car Week to help.
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While the idea of taking a three-row SUV and slicing and dicing its boxier roofline down to something faster and lower isn't new, the result here is that the QX65 bears a strong resemblance to Infiniti's earlier FX models.
If you don't remember those FXs, they were early pioneers of the big-wheel, low-roof, chunky-body-styling trend common to many of today's "coupe-SUVs," and the hot look was backed up by actual performance from their sport-sedan-derived platforms. The last FX was last sold in 2013 but briefly lived on with a name change to QX70 until 2017.
The similarities between the QX65's roofline and that of the old-school FX are unmistakeable. Given the QX65 Monograph appears to be derived from a current QX60—and certainly the production model due sometime soon also will be—there's a slight awkwardness to the marriage of that FXy roofline and the QX60's boxier, lower body and nose.
But if you weren't intimately familiar with the QX60 already, the QX65 Monograph concept puts forth a convincing transformation. The roofline and slightly upkicked tail give the Monograph a surprisingly jaunty stance that's sportier than the regular QX60's. A set of 22-inch wheels are appropriately large.
Infiniti isn't talking power, but the QX60 is powered by a highly conventional 295-hp 3.5-liter V-6 engine with front- or all-wheel drive. We'd hope that, if the QX65 Monogram concept becomes a reality—which it seems on its way to becoming—Infiniti could stuff in one of its saucier engine choices, namely the 400-hp-ish twin-turbo V-6 from the Q50 sedan.
Such a powertrain transfer between Infiniti's cars and an SUV like the QX65 would not only open up more muscle for this two-row, sporty SUV, but also mimic the transfer between Infiniti's earlier G sport sedans and the old FXs. (The FX was available with a powerful gas V-6 or an optional V-8.) Let's hope so, because the QX65 is an interesting addition to the lineup, one that leverages the QX60's handsome details alongside the swoopy roofline some upscale SUV buyers seem to want.
A lifelong car enthusiast, I stumbled into this line of work essentially by accident after discovering a job posting for an intern position at Car and Driver while at college. My start may have been a compelling alternative to working in a University of Michigan dining hall, but a decade and a half later, here I am reviewing cars; judging our Car, Truck, and Performance Vehicle of the Year contests; and shaping MotorTrend’s daily coverage of the automotive industry.
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