In Australia, just three performance sedans are offered with a manual transmission: the all-wheel drive Subaru WRX, the front-drive Hyundai i30 Sedan N, and the BMW M3.
The trio now represent a niche market, though even 15 years ago local buyers had even more choice thanks to Ford, Holden and even luxury marques like Lexus and Porsche.
Though sports coupes are now the car of choice for drivers who want their manual fix, a new report suggests one two-door model could inspire the rebirth of a former fast sedan.
According to Automotive News, Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti is set to launch a successor to the now-defunct Q5, with US dealers reportedly shown a teaser of the upcoming ‘Q50S’, which would run on the platform of the current Japanese-market Skyline (rebadged as the Q50 elsewhere).
However, its powertrain would be largely borrowed from the Z sports coupe, meaning a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 engine would sit under the bonnet. Reportedly a six-speed transmission would be offered, and power would continue to be sent to the rear wheels - a recipe used previously for the Q50.
Ironically, it was the previous Q50 Red Sport which the Z’s engine was pulled from. In the final run of the coupe, it produced 299kW and 475Nm, with a seven-speed automatic as standard, while buyers were also given the choice of rear- or all-wheel drive.
Those outputs are identical to the Z, which can be bought with a six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic transmission. A more hardcore Z Nismo boasts 313kW and 521Nm outputs, but is auto-only.
The Automotive News report claims the Infiniti Q50S would be pushed even further in Red Sport guise to make more than 336kW, or 450hp in US terms.
Without confirming the name of the model, Infiniti Americas vice president Tiago Castro told the publication it will be “an opportunity to connect back to the roots of the brand”, while adding the performance sedan will be “unapologetic and unexpected”.
We’ll have to wait a while to see it though, as the launch reportedly won’t occur until 2027. Between now and then, Nissan - and by extension Infiniti - has a number of battles on its hands, as it tries to climb out of a financial crisis.
