Cards on the table: I may have broken the speed limit for a few seconds while demonstrating the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400’s impressive torque and horsepower to some friends on a back road in Ontario’s (otherwise) peaceful Prince Edward County. You see, my eyes were not on the speedometer. Instead, like my three passengers’, they were on the blurring jump-to-light-speed rushing towards us in the windshield. Moreover, the Q60 Red Sport is a low-slung coupe. Consequently, the sensation of speed is impacted, so we may or may not have sped briefly.
But speaking of impact, we definitely decelerated into legal territory long before posing a threat to anyone but ourselves. A flat if picturesque thousandish square clicks that spearhead well south of Canada’s famously dull Highway 401 into Lake Ontario, this county’s lowlands feature long curves and longer straights. Often, you can see hundreds of metres ahead, uninterrupted. Nothing was coming towards us but the odd late summer wasp.
(Remember that joke, what’s the last thing to go through a bug’s mind when he hits your grill?*)
And small wonder that we may have sped briefly: the diminutive Q60 is powered by a twin turbo six-cylinder engine that attains 400hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. Turbo lag is not much of a problem.
But still speaking of impact, “You smacked my head against the back window,” my old pal Jonathan half complained as we re-entered Earth’s atmosphere ten seconds after our demonstration began. Turbo lag’s not a problem but, for some, headroom in the rear seats is.
Infiniti has always catered to motoring enthusiasts — but everyone’s gotta eat. So, I both understand and lament that the Q60 is only available with all-wheel drive in Canada, and not rear- as it is in America. Canadians love AWD and think it’s practical. (Not that I’m considering emigrating anytime soon.)
Speaking of that, there’s little more that’s practical about the Q60 than its insistence on AWD.
For instance, despite the car’s name, any astute reader will observe this one’s blue in the pictures. But note the S badge beside the name, containing a wicked red band. The band’s colour and proportions are similar to those meaty callipers’, visible between the spokes of those unnecessary but oh so choice 20-inch rollers.
Perhaps the Red refers to where you’ll find your tachometer when demonstrating this coupe’s virility.
Another in-your-face impracticality? The trunk seems deliberately too small for a family. Yes, you can flatten the seats to expand the trunk but that cleverly eliminates space for children. Earlier that day before returning the 60/40-split rear bench to it’s up position for the demo, I easily cached a suitcase, cooler full of food and booze, and an inflatable stand-up paddleboard (see above re Lake Ontario) which is leaner but wider than, and as long as, a set of golf clubs.
For some reason, there’s a rule that you always have to mention golf clubs when the price of a car exceeds $50k.
Anyway, those complaining backseat passengers with their head boo-boos are already pampered enough amid the supple leather upholstery. Better still, they’re easily muffled beneath the roar of the open power moonroof and Bose surround sound system with its ubiquitously placed 16 speakers!
Yes, 16 speakers! Even if you briefly fill the car with three other passengers, that only makes eight ears. Practicality be damned!
Tempted? All the features listed in this article and dozens more were included in the (albeit upper-management level) opening price for this sporting model. Unexpectedly, one of those features was the clearly necessary ‘Active Head Restraint System’.
Imagine how Jonathan would’ve fared without that.
MSRP: $61,295
Options (none were mentioned above): $3,200
Freight: $2,045
As driven hard: $66,540
By Steven Bochenek
*His asshole (it’s funny how you always come back to the classics)!
