Heavy Metal Lust: The New Infiniti QX80 Sport

With 2025 being the best retail calendar year in the brand’s history, driven by 18 consecutive months of sales growth, Infiniti, you could say, is on a roll. In fact, Infiniti is now the fastest-growing brand in the full-size premium SUV segment.

So, what’s all the hype about, and how did Infiniti pull it off? Two letters and two numbers: QX80.

The QX80 hits all the right buttons, and the new 2026 QX80 Sport tightens the formula even further – it is a familiar movement, but regulated for sharper precision.

If the standard QX80 is a dress watch, the Sport trim is the PVD-coated diver. By stripping away the garish chrome and replacing it with dark matte finishes on the grille, mirror caps, and emblems, Infiniti has created an SUV that is massive yet stealthy.
 

At over 211 inches long and nearly 80 inches tall, its “body-on-frame” heritage provides a literal and figurative gravity. It feels “heavy” in the best way possible – solid, monochromatic, and substantial. The QX80’s double-arch grille, inspired by the verticality of a bamboo forest, is finished in gloss black. It is assertive and wide, kind of like a watch that has the wrist presence of a 45mm case but doesn’t feel oversized.

In watchmaking, a complication adds function and beauty; on the QX80, the lighting serves the same purpose. Piano-key-inspired LED daytime running lights frame the illuminated Infiniti emblem, while a full-width rear light bar composed of more than 300 LEDs delivers a clean, technical signature.
 

When approaching the vehicle, we especially love the available Infiniti Light Path projection, which throws out the proverbial red carpet on the pavement by splashing the Infiniti logo on the ground.

The 2026 QX80 Sport is a massive leap forward, finally delivering the tech-forward flagship experience the previous generation so desperately lacked. To start, it trades out the dated, button-heavy dashboard for a “Monolith” dual-screen display featuring two 14.3-inch monitors that are both vivid and responsive.
 

Then, a second 9-inch touchscreen sits below to handle climate and drive modes, keeping the layout clean and clutter-free. And finally, the QX80 gets the interior it deserves, featuring semi-aniline leather and open-pore ash wood to ensure the cabin is as beautiful to look at as it is to spend hours behind the wheel.

Beyond the tactile wood and leather, the QX80 Sport bridges the gap between mechanical tradition and digital innovation. Infiniti has integrated “invisible” systems, such as Biometric Cooling, which uses infrared sensors to automatically adjust the climate for second-row passengers.
 

The tech suite is rounded out by a 24-speaker Klipsch system with headrest speakers that finally solves the problem of muting music for a phone call; now, you can chat privately while the cabin continues to enjoy the soundtrack. From the “Invisible Hood View” camera to the massaging seats, the cabin finally feels modern and deliberately premium.

Under the hood, the QX80 has replaced the old-school, naturally aspirated V8 with a more modern, fuel-efficient 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6. This new engine churns out 450 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque for a power delivery that feels linear and effortless. Smash the gas, and the QX80 Sport sprints from zero to 60 mph in about 5.5 seconds, which, for a vehicle of this size, is commendable.
 

On the road, the QX80 seems to defy physics even further with its Dynamic Digital Suspension system, which constantly measures the vehicle’s motion to calculate the required damping force. The result is uncanny; the QX80 takes highway off-ramps with a flat, car-like composure that virtually erases the memory of the previous generation’s lean.

The 2026 Infiniti QX80 Sport proves that bold design and everyday luxury don’t have to be mutually exclusive. It delivers presence without excess, technology without complication, and performance without bravado. Like a well-designed watch, it’s not about any single feature; it’s about how everything works together.
 

For more information, check out the Infiniti website.