According to British mag Autocar, Nissan’s luxury arm Infiniti is preparing an all-new luxury flagship sedan designed to go head-to-head with Europe’s more upscale offerings like the Maserati Quattroporte.

The sedan - which will revive the ‘Q’ badge that was dropped in 2006 - won’t be the oft-rumoured 4-door GT-R, but should still boast plenty of punch.

Current speculation places the 5.0 litre V8 from the Infiniti FX50 in the new Q’s engine bay, with power output estimated to hover around the 310kW mark.

The new Q (the old one is pictured above)  is slated to appear in 2012 alongside the next generation G sedan, while a battery-electric 1 Series-sized small car is reportedly on Infiniti’s long-term wishlist.

The all-electric Infiniti would need to marry a RWD or AWD platform with an aerodynamically-slippery body, however it appears there are no concrete plans to build such a car before 2013. An all-new seven-seater is also rumoured to be in the pipeline.

Models that are a little closer to the showroom include the next-gen M sedan, which is expected to add a 3.0 litre turbodiesel V6 to the 3.7 litre V6 and 5.0 litre V8 that are already in the works.

The European market isn’t likely to get the V8 however, while US buyers probably won’t be able to spec the diesel. A hybrid version is also planned, and the new M is expected to launch at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

The second-gen Infiniti QX full-size SUV will likely make its debut in 2011.

Unfortunately there are no plans to ‘productionise’ the achingly beautiful Infiniti Essence concept. Even worse, there’s still no plans to distribute Infiniti’s stellar lineup in Australia. We can dream, though…

[Autocar]