Infiniti is gearing up for the long-awaited debut of the all-new QX80, set to become the brand’s flagship model. The carmaker has confirmed that the unveiling will take place on March 20, with the 2025MY QX80 making its first public appearance the following month at the 2024 New York International Auto Show that runs from March 29, through Sunday, April 7. Leading up to the world premiere, Infiniti plans to release several teasers of the QX80, which was previewed by the near-production QX Monograph concept last year. “Before new models are revealed, they are typically hidden behind camouflage to obscure details,” said Alfonso Albaisa, senior vice president for Global Design. “But, we believe the all-new QX80 is too extraordinary to keep completely hidden.”

Infiniti’s giant QX80 SUV was launched 20 years ago as the QX56, and while the name has changed, one thing hasn’t: the biggest QX has always been among the ugliest SUVs you can buy. But the third-generation model Nissan’s upscale brand is getting ready to reveal has clearly had enough of looking like a rolling Victorian freak show and is bringing some real style to the table.

 

Let’s just check ourselves there, because there’s only so much a designer can do when told to package a vehicle that the engineering department has already decreed must be shaped like a 1970s school bus. But last year’s QX80 Monograph Concept introduced us to a QX that was boxy, brutalist, and undeniably cool at the same time. And judging by these latest spy shots the production version is all but identical.

There are definitely some strong Range Rover influences going on with the new QX’s styling that give it a modern look. Adding to the contemporary feel are the flush door handles and split light arrangement that places the DRLs in a thin strip at the top of the fender and the real headlights some way down the same panel. Ditching the kink in the D-pillar (this car uses camo to hide the new design) helps make the SUV look less heavy around the rear, and the new grille is meant to look like bamboo shoots.