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Nissan's luxury sub-brand, Infiniti, will show its new crossover SUV concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. The QX50 concept is said to be Infiniti's vision for its next generation premium SUV, and it also previews applications for autonomous technology and the company's new variable compression ratio engine.
Design-wise, it follows on from the existing QX Sport Inspiration study, so Infiniti's self-titled 'Powerful Elegance' design language features heavily. It doesn't appear as outlandish or far-fetched as most concepts however, so there's a possibility that what you see here will be closely related to the production version.
Under the skin, the QX50 concept contains production-ready autonomous technology. Infiniti's approach towards autonomous aids centres on keeping ultimate control in the hands of the driver, with the technology acting more like a 'co-pilot' that can relieve the driver of mundane tasks like navigating through traffic. Infiniti says that this ties in with the driver engagement focus of their vehicles, and it's certainly an interesting attitude in comparison to methods favoured by other manufacturers in these times.
Infiniti's new variable compression ratio petrol engine also features. This turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit is said to produce 268hp and 390Nm of torque, while providing big efficiency gains over larger capacity six-cylinder engines with similar outputs. The compression ratio can be altered between 8:1 and 14:1 depending on driving conditions, achieved by changing the length of each piston's stroke. A low compression ratio gives more power, while efficiency and economy increase towards the higher end of the scale.