2018 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 Coupe
Reviewing the 2017 Q60 Red Sport 400 RWD coupe several months ago, we said that it stopped just short of being a track car that does highway. That – considering its outstanding ride, premium interior treatments and convenience features – it was really a superb road car that would not hesitate to jump on the track.
A more recent weeklong test drive of a 2018 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 RWD coupe did not alter that view. Equipped with the high performance 3.0L twin turbo 400 horsepower V6 and fitted with a very comprehensive array of road and driver-centric technology, the Red Sport 400 RWD remains a driver’s car for sure.
One significant change for 2018 to note is the wheel upgrade to 20×9-inch front and 20×9.5-inch rear (staggered) aluminum alloy dark finish wheels mounted with 255/35R20 front and 275/R30 rear Summer performance tires. Not only do they enhance the sleek look of the Red Sport 400, but also improve performance with better handling of lateral G-forces.
2018 Red Sport 400 RWD as tested
Our Red Sport 400 came in Dynamic Sunstone Red and was powered by the enhanced (VR version) 3.0L V6 twin turbo engine with turbine speed sensor optimization in order to produce its 400 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque.
It was mated to their very-efficient 7-speed automatic transmission equipped with paddle shifters and featuring manual shift mode, downshift rev matching and Adaptive Shift Control that monitors the drive environment and makes shift pattern changes accordingly. Further, it also ‘learns’ the driving habits of each driver and tailors’ adjustments to the shift patterns accordingly.
Still, with all of the power and torque, fuel economy ratings for the 3.0L twin turbo V6 are decent at 20/27 mpg city/highway and 22 mpg combined.
Mechanical Detail
Handling characteristics are customizable through the Drive Mode Selector system accessed through the 8-inch touchscreen. The available modes are Customize, Standard, Snow, Eco, Sport and Sport+. A skilled driver (we think that would be us) would select Sport+ mode with Dynamic+ steering response for the optimum drive experience.
The Q60 with V6 features Rack Electronic Power Steering. When equipped with Direct Adaptive Steering (ours was), the driver can choose one of three core modes (Standard, Sport and Sport+) and then specify the preferred level of response (Default, Dynamic and Dynamic+) to manage their steering response preference in conjunction with their Drive Mode selection.
Underneath the Q60 uses a unique independent front and rear sport suspension coupled with Infiniti’s Electronic Dynamic Digital Suspension (DDS). The DDS, working in tandem with Direct Adaptive Steering, it monitors and manages vehicle roll, pitch and bounce using electronically adjustable variable control dampers to manage ride firmness for an optimal drive experience.
Braking on the Q60 Red Sport 400 is very responsive featuring heavy duty power assisted Sport brakes fitted with14.0-inch front and 13.8-inch rear vented discs, 4-piston front and 2-piston rear calipers and Electronic Brake Force Distribution.
Luxury and Convenience
On the inside our White interior Infiniti Q60 was all about luxury and convenience. Some of the features included a power sliding/tinted glass moon roof, automatic On/Off LED headlights plus LED daytime running lights, fog lights, turn signals and brake lights. We like the seating in particular. The front seats are high back and very well bolstered, have semi-aniline leather appointed surfaces and feature 8-way power adjust and driver power lumbar and side bolsters.
Interior touchpoints were premium soft surface with contrast stitching and carbon fiber trim accents. In the case of our test vehicle with the White interior, the interior trim was Silver Optic Fiber. Other features included aluminum accent pedals, door handle approach lighting, Chrome Double Arch Grille, logo aluminum doorsill kick plates, folding rear seat and Flexible Stop Position doors and more.
Technology amenities included the Infiniti InTouch Dual Display with Infiniti Controller, Push-Button Start, Intelligent Key Intuition for storing driver preferences to each key, Bluetooth phone with Voice Recognition and streaming audio, Bose Performance Series 13-speaker with Centerpoint surround sound, SiriusXM radio, USB, auxiliary audio and video inputs and steering wheel mounted controls.
Some specific safety features included RearView Camera, Antilock Brakes, Brake Assist, Vehicle Dynamic Control with Traction Control and Tire-specific Pressure Monitoring.
The MSRP for our 2018 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 RWD was $52,000 before delivery. Already hot – the folks at Infiniti made sure the one we drove was even hotter.
All the goodies – nearly make it self-driving
If you are sending us your hottest sports coupe to test, you better send it with all the available goodies.
In the case of the Red Sport 400 Coupe, the following group of ‘goodies’ – when added to the standard features – enables this coupe to handle nearly everything except how fast and furious you want to go.
For just $10,800 more, Infiniti packed our test Q60 Red Sport 400 with the following extras in packages or as options:
- Carbon Fiber decklid spoiler, mirror covers, fog lamp finishers and fender vents
- Silver Optic Fiber interior accents and illuminated kick plates
- Infiniti InTouch Navigation with voice recognition, SiriusXM Traffic and Remote Start
- AroundView Monitor w/Moving Object Detection and Front and Rear Sonar
- Heated front seats, steering wheel and rain sensing windshield wipers
- Intelligent Cruise control, Distance Control, Predictive/Forward Collison Warning and Forward Emergency Braking w/Pedestrian Detection
- Direct Adaptive Steering and Lane Departure Prevention w/Active Lane Control
- Adaptive Front Lighting system with Auto Leveling, automatic High Beam Assist and On/Off
- Blind Spot Warning w/Blind Spot Intervention, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Backup Collision Intervention
- Dynamic Sunstone Red paint
Fully loaded and ready to go – including delivery – our 2018 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 RWD sports coupe (with everything including the awesome drive experience) was priced at a very reasonable $63,705.
2018 Infiniti Q60 Lineup
The 2018 Infiniti Q60 lineup comes in four models (Pure, Luxe, Sport and Red Sport), three power plants and choice of rear-wheel and all-wheel drive. Pricing (RWD) begins at $38,950 for the 2.0L Turbo, Luxe 2.0L Turbo $41,300, Luxe 3.0L Turbo $44,300, Sport $48,300 3.0L Turbo and the 3.0L Twin Turbo Red Sport 400 $52,000. AWD is an additional $2,000.
You can explore the 2018 Infiniti Q60 in more detail by visiting: https://www.infinitiusa.com/vehicles/coupes/q60.html
2018 Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 RWD
For those who would love to experience all of the features and capability of the 2018 Q60 sports coupe but lean toward a sedan over a coupe, we strongly suggest a look at the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan. Frankly, we like the sports sedan over the coupe mostly due to the backseat and trunk room found in the sedan over the coupe.
We drove the Infiniti Q50 – a Red Sport 400 RWD sedan – for a week just before Christmas. You can read our review at inwheeltime.com (http://ticket-1994427.inwheeltime.com/2018-infiniti-q50-sport-sedan-runs-mild-wild-red/)
