The Infiniti Q50 Was Born A Disappointment But It’s Dying An Underground Legend

It’s uncommon for a car to end production in a better place than when it started, but every so often, it does happen, thanks to great facelifts, big tech upgrades, or new powertrains. Infiniti has confirmed that for the 2025 model year, there will be no Q50 sedan, marking the end of an impressive 11 model year run. While it hasn’t been an easy eleven model years, the Infiniti Q50 has arguably finished strong, going from a softer G37 replacement with highly controversial tech to a bolt-on and tune darling.

It’s generally good journalistic practice to kick off reports like this with a quote, so here’s Infiniti’s official statement on the discontinuation of the Q50:

Acting on our commitment to transform our vehicle line with four new products beginning with the all-new 2025 QX80, the INFINITI Q50 sedan will not be available in the United States and Canada after the 2024 model year.

The Q50 has an incredible fan base as a formidable sports sedan, while remaining one of our most popular vehicles since its introduction in 2013. The Q50’s spirit will certainly live on in our future sports sedan EV, previewed by the Vision Qe concept that made its debut last October.

You’ll likely still be able to find Q50s on dealership lots, but if you want to get your order in, that time is coming to a close. However, if you’re looking for a Q50, you’re probably looking at a used one, because over the model’s life, it became all about what you can put into it. Here’s how that happened.

When the Infiniti Q50 launched in 2013 for the 2014 model year, this G35 replacement virtually evaporated brand equity overnight. Not only did it not keep the naming scheme of its predecessor, it was overall a softer, more luxury-focused product than before. The option of a six-speed manual gearbox was gone, the standard 3.7-liter VQ37VHR V6 was a carryover unit, and the highlights of the range were a slow-to-load dual-screen infotainment setup, an optional hybrid powertrain, and a particularly wretched optional steer-by-wire setup called Direct Adaptive Steering. Just read what Car And Driver had to say about the latter system in a long-term road test of a 2014 Infiniti Q50 Hybrid:

So universal was the dislike for the steering and braking dynamics that logbook entries frequently declared them not yet ready for prime time. Specifically, the fully electric, by-wire Direct Adaptive Steering (DAS) came under fire for being completely devoid of feedback and feel and also for being “absurdly quick,” even on the Standard setting. The brakes, on the other hand, were grabby, with a hard transition from regenerative mode to friction braking under hard deceleration, making it nearly impossible to modulate them with any subtlety. As enthusiasts, we knew many of the elements required to make a decent chassis were in place, so the Q50S’s overanxious steering and braking behavior had us particularly miffed. A reflash of the steering software around the 15,000-mile mark failed to tame its harsh and unpredictable reactions.

That might sound harsh, but it really was an awful setup that would occasionally change its ratio mid-corner, spooky behavior that prevented keen drivers from ever trusting it. I hated driving every DAS-equipped press car with every fiber of my being because while there was so much potential in the chassis, the steering just killed it all. Sure, there was a mechanical steering column as an emergency backup, but when a key part of driving involves a system this bad, it really doesn’t make a bloody difference. Add in a scuttled Eau Rouge high performance model, and the Q50 started to feel like an also-ran.

Then, for the 2016 model year, things changed. While a new two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder base engine was nothing to write home about, for much of the range, Infiniti pulled out the VQ37VHR V6 and dropped in the twin-turbocharged three-liter VR30DDTT V6 engine. On paper, the standard 3.0T model was down 28 horsepower over the 3.7-liter model, but everyone knows that where turbos exist, torque exists, and a way of turning up the wick substantially is easily found. Oh, and that’s before we even mention the Red Sport 400 trim, which swapped in some new components and kicked things up to 400 horsepower. Who likes to party?

Unsurprisingly, after being deprived of a turbocharged rear-wheel-drive Nissan Motor Co. product since the end of the 300ZX, American tuners took to the revitalized Infiniti Q50 like moths to a flame. Burger Motorsports found that this engine would make 421 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque at the tires with cone-style intakes, an upgraded intercooler heat exchanger, a piggyback ECU, and a blend of 30 percent ethanol, 70 percent gasoline. AMS Performance took things even further, going to town and making a 600 wheel horsepower package for the Q50, resulting in an unassuming sedan that could beat up on Hellcats. People have pushed this platform to nine-second quarter-mile passes, an astonishing feat considering the bones of the chassis date back to the early 2000s.

Oh, and as time went on, it became easier and easier to buy a high-spec Infiniti Q50 without having to deal with the dreadful steer-by-wire Direct Adaptive Steering system. Since it still rides on Nissan’s FM platform, it’s easy enough to get one of these cars to handle well, because the biggest limiting factor is simply how well you can parse an online parts catalog.

Sure, the Infiniti Q50 wasn’t the greatest sports sedan out of the box, but with a bit of ingenuity coupled with a meaningful mid-cycle engine update eventually made it a tuner darling. Exactly what you’d expect from what was essentially a rebranded Skyline. In many ways, it was the last vestige of the Infiniti we knew and loved in the 2000s, which is why we’re sorry to see it go. At least some of its bones live on in the new Nissan Z, even if that rakish coupe isn’t nearly as stealthy as the Q50 was.

(Photo credits: Infiniti)

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