Page 87 - S Winter 2025

SMAGAZINEOFFICIAL.COM AUTO
87
The QX80 was also heavily influenced by the concept of sho,
which means to glide or to soar. Seen in the metal, it’s really giving
private jet: note the two-tone paint, flush-fitting curved lights
front and rear, subtle black chrome trim, and turbine-like 22-inch
aluminum wheels. The entire design was carefully sculpted so as to
be smooth and aerodynamic, ensuring not just efficiency, but also a
quiet cabin.
Utsuroi—the formation of harmonious transitions—can be
felt as guests step into the vehicle. Open the door and you’ll find
an opulent world of sophisticated materials. The exterior lighting
design flows into the cabin, with customizable ambient lighting
along the doors, “bringing a sense of harmony to all elements,”
Albaisa says. There’s a black ultra-suede headliner, a panoramic
glass roof, and leather available across the doors, dashboard and
centre console. The open-pore ash wood interior trim has laser-
etched metal inlays, positioned on precise angles, inspired—as
Albaisa explains—by the design of traditional Japanese kimonos.
We’ve never seen anything else quite like this in a car before.
The hospitality extends into the third row of seats, too. “In some
large SUVs, first-row seats feel like you’re in first class, but those in
the third row often feel like you’re in coach, but not in here,” says
Albaisa. “Our goal was to create the feeling where all rows enjoy
the same sense of hospitality.”
To that end, available semi-aniline leather extends across every
seat. Not only that, but the intricate dot-quilting pattern on the
leather flows through all three rows, too. It’s a deeply luxurious
place to be, no matter where you’re sitting.
The all-new INFINITI QX80 exhibits a level of hospitality that
can only be created through good design, great care, and, if you ask
us, by Alfonso Albaisa and his team.