The Bottom Line: Infiniti is the upscale car division of the Nissan Motor Car Company that started over 30 years ago. Brand new for the 2020 model year is a stunning Infiniti Q60 sport coupe. This is the base car for the tuner edition called the RED SPORT 400 AWD model. This is the car Infiniti sent me to review this week. A 2020 Q60 sport coupe painted in Liquid Platinum, with Graphite Leather seats, and double contrasting RED interior seam stitching.
The Q60 Red Sport has all the markings of a true tuner edition car. It starts out with a 400 HP horsepower 3.0L liter V/6 engine with 350 pounds of torque and twin turbochargers, that’s mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission with downshift rev-matching and manual shift steering wheel paddle shifters, coupled to an AWD, all-wheel-drive drivetrain, plus the sport brake package with larger HP high-performance rotors and RED painted disc brake calipers with the Infiniti name painted on them in bold black letters and P255 / 35R 20″ all-season performance tires on exclusive 20″ aluminum-alloy sport wheels.
Not only does the Q60 look the part of a tuner sport coupe, but it also has all the right stuff added to it to get the job done. The car itself is a sleek 2 door coupe with aggressive body lines that go back to a rear sloping roofline, with a short trunk lid and a rear spoiler. With the power options in RED SPORT trim, the car has the go-to match the looks and go it does.
The 400 HP engine has just the right amount of power to make every day drive a bit of excitement. The paddle shifters let you select the gear you like best, and the active polished stainless steel exhaust system makes just the right amount of rumble, to match the car’s performance dynamics, with external resonators. Not only does the car look fast, but it also sounds fast, both inside and out.
With all upscale tuner cars, you need a lot of carbon fiber to make the car lighter and faster. The Q60 Red Sport has all of that, and more. With the Carbon Fiber Package you get a carbon fiber rear decklid spoiler, dual carbon-fiber exterior mirror covers, carbon fiber fog lamp finishes, and carbon fiber fender vent covers. The interior is covered in carbon fiber on the front door panels and on both sides of the center stack and drivers console. WOW, that’s a lot of carbon fiber!
To make it known to those who respect street bred tuner cars the Q60 has an AWD, all-wheel drive, the emblem on the left side of the carbon fiber trimmed trunk lid, and Q60S on the right side. The S letter is lined in red paint to mark it as a Q60 RED SPORT edition car. While both front fenders advertise it as an S3.0T, as an S RED SPORT edition again, with a 3.0 L liter T turbo-powered engine.
To start with, the base MSRP Manufactures Suggested Retail Price is: $59,150. The options of the test car are: the cargo package for $310, the Infiniti radiant illuminated kick plates for $420, the Infiniti radiant welcome lighting package for $465, the Infiniti interior ambient lighting package for $510, the complete carbon fiber package for $2,280 and the 20 inches 5 spoke dual finish wheels and high-performance tires for $1,790. The total MSRP price including the $1,025 destination charge came to $65,950.
New cars are not cheap, and new sport coupes cost even more, then add in the tuner options, and these cars cost more than a new base-priced C8 Corvette. Of course, the new Corvette would cost way over $10,000+ more than the Q60 with the same options, but let’s stay with the apple to apple comparisons for now.
The new for 2020 Infiniti Q60 RED SPORT 400 AWD edition car starts at just over $59,000 loaded with standard features, and this is less than all the tuner cars from AMG, BMW, Porsche, Audi, and Lexus. The Infiniti Q60 just looks fantastic, drives great, sounds great, and is at a price point that makes it very competitive in this high performance, sports coupe, and tuner car market.
Remember “You Are What You Drive ©”
And maybe, just for those reasons alone, you should “Drive one, Buy one, Today ©”.
This Bottom Line Review is provided by: Tony Leopardo © AutoWire.Net.
“Tony the Car Guy” is an automotive writer, editor and publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question, or comment for Tony, send it to tonyleo@pacbell.net or visit AutoWire.Net at www.autowire.net
