Now that the towering Infiniti QX80 SUV finally looks suitable to serve as a flagship of the SUV lineup, we posed some questions to Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti?s head of design. The brand has gone without a proper flagship sedan since the Q45 departed in 2006, so we asked what plans the company might have to change that situation, while we also sought to learn more about the QX80’s future and whether off-road prowess matters to its buyers.
First, regarding the QX80?s role, Albaisa definitely considers it the flagship of the SUV lineup, but he wouldn?t go there when we asked him if he thought it was the flagship of the entire Infiniti brand. He did say, however, that with the technology, the active suspension, and the open-pore wood that has heretofore been offered on the QX80, ?it has a level of luxury that is our flagship [SUV],? but that it needed to look more assertive. Ever since the first Infiniti FX appeared as a 2003 model, he said, ?SUVs have been the cars that resonate very strongly with our customers. I myself felt that we should push this car out in the sense of its visual presence.? Furthermore, the QX80?s customers are particularly emotional about the product, often buying it as a reward, he said. ?It?s one of those cars that people come in and they?re not wavering; they want this car.?

Yet the QX80 is the only Infiniti with body-on-frame construction?it shares its underpinnings with the Nissan Patrol, which is sold globally outside of the United States,...