Here’s Why the Return of One of Infiniti’s Most Revolutionary Models Is a Big Deal

Nissan’s luxury division hopes to recapture the groundbreaking spirit of the original FX crossover SUV.

Rear side of a metallic gray FX45 car showing the taillight, fuel cap, and part of the rear wheel.

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Published January 9, 2026

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Updated January 24, 2026

Remember the Infiniti FX, also formerly known and rebadged as the QX70? Pepperidge Farm remembers, and the model is making a comeback after nearly a decade in hiatus.

In August 2025, Nissan’s luxury division teased its revival with the near-production-ready-looking QX65 Monograph Concept. Since then, Infiniti slowly confirmed its march to production, with a debut scheduled sometime later this year.

Purple Infiniti SUV with black grille and wheels parked on a flat surface at sunset. — Infiniti hopes it can become relevant again by reviving an old friend.

While this may seem like another boring crossover SUV to add to the many already in the fold, the model’s significance is actually far greater. As such, its return is cause to be excited.

The FX is a major reason why sporty luxury crossovers are so popular

Orange Infiniti SUV parked on a road with double yellow lines, viewed from front-left angle. — Introduced in 2002, the FX35/45 were groundbreaking crossover SUVs that spawned a whole new segment.

Today, sporty luxury crossover SUVs are as common as smartphones. However, without the Infiniti FX, models like the “coupe-like” BMW X4 and X6, the Mercedes-Benz GLC and GLE Coupe, the Porsche Cayenne Coupe, the Audi Q5 Sportback and the Q8 might not even exist.

It’s the OG of the high-riding, road-biased car-based crossover SUVs with low-slung roofs. And it all started in 2002, when Infiniti was still a meaningful name in the automotive world.

Metallic orange crossover SUV driving on a road with blurred background and spinning wheels. — Models like the BMW X6, X4, Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, and the Audi Q5 Sportback owe their popularity to the FX.

The original FX debuted in 2002 alongside another one of Infiniti’s most iconic models, the G35 sedan. That’s because the FX also shared the same underpinnings and powertrain.

The base FX35 featured the same 3.5-liter VQ-based naturally-aspirated V6 and five-speed automatic combination. Buyers could also opt between rear- or all-wheel drive.

Orange Infiniti SUV driving on a tree-lined road with motion blur on the pavement. — When it was new, the FX35/45 were unlike any other automobiles on the road.

The only uncommon powertrain between the two was the more powerful FX45’s optional 4.5-liter naturally-aspirated V8 from the Q45 flagship sedan.

The FX also rode the initial wave of sporty crossover SUVs first established by the BMW X5 only a few years earlier. Thus, as the FX experienced profound success in the 2000s after the hugely popular, but short-lived Nissan Pathfinder-based QX4, it helped proliferate the concept’s popularity.

Brown Infiniti SUV parked on a road with autumn foliage in the background. — Infiniti struck an odd goldmine with its original Nissan R50 Pathfinder-based QX4.

Today, the luxury sports crossover SUV segment remains to be one of the most popular and top-selling segments of all time. And it wouldn’t have happened without the FX being so popular.

Rear view of a brown Infiniti FX45 SUV parked on a driveway in front of a yellow house with greenery. — The FX45 was a serious luxury sports crossover with a 4.5-liter naturally-aspirated V8 from the Q45 sedan.

BMW’s X6 wouldn’t arrive for another five years, with Mercedes equivalent showing up over a decade after the FX.

Infiniti hopes the QX65 will put it back on the map, but can it?

Matte maroon Infiniti QX65 SUV with black roof and alloy wheels on a flat desert surface. — Infiniti says the QX65 will be ready for production later this year.

Because the FX was so significant, Infiniti says it hopes to recapture some of the spirit of the original. The FX model evolved over two generations, before being renamed as the QX70 for its second-gen mid-cycle refresh.

However, its popularity starkly fell in the wake of the much more popular BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe when they arrived in 2007 and 2015. Infiniti eventually discontinued the model in 2018 due to poor sales, losing out to the cheaper, smaller and far less fun-to-drive QX50.

Blue Infiniti SUV with black grille and wheels driving on a city street. — The QX50 and its slightly more stylish QX55 have been stand-in replacements for the QX70.

And the main reason why the QX50 couldn’t compare to the QX70 was because the original FX/QX70 utilizes rear-wheel-drive platforms. The QX50, on the other hand, utilizes a front-wheel-drive modular platform shared with the current Rogue. And dynamically, they are incomparable.

The QX50 is also technically a direct successor to the original EX35, which was the QX70/FX’s original smaller cousin.

Black Infiniti SUV driving on a paved road with green fields in the background. — The QX70 ended production in 2018 due to slow sales.

Can the new QX65 do what Infiniti’s hoping it can? Well, stylistically, it’s off to a good start as the lineage is evident from its curved roofline and high-riding shoulder.

But according to the latest development, the new QX65 will utilize the same front-wheel-drive-based Nissan D platform as the current QX60. It’s also the same platform underpinning the current Pathfinder.

Side view of a matte purple Infiniti SUV with black roof and wheels on a flat surface with mountains in the background. — Stylistically, the new QX65 could do well, but can it perform?

So sadly, the new model won’t get a dynamic rear-wheel-drive backbone as its predecessors. But as Audi, Acura and Lexus have all proven, a major portion of its target market prefer front-drive bones — or they simply don’t care.

Regardless, as someone who grew up learning how to drive on a 2005 FX35 — leased at the time by my mom — I hope Infiniti could be as impactfully popular as it once was in the 1990s and 2000s. The FX and the models from what is arguably one of Infiniti’s peak eras were genuinely awesome cars.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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