News Source: topspeed.com

The Infiniti  Q60 actually began its life as the G37.  But the company decided to adopt a new naming strategy in 2012, dropping its old nomenclature in favor of a new ’Q  ’ prefix for its coupes, sedans, and convertibles. That’s how the Q60  came to have its new name. The model is actually offered in both coupe and convertible configurations, offering customers a choice of enjoying the model with the top closed or tucked comfortably near the trunk.

Naturally, new strategies also comes with new expectations. That’s what Infiniti had to overcome with the launch of the 2014 Q60 Convertible. For the most part, Infiniti has a model that can really make a name for itself in an extremely competitive market segment.

The Q60 Convertible still has some work to do if it wants to catch some mainstream love, but the good news is that Infiniti gave it a nice head start.

There aren’t a lot of styling differences between the coupe and convertible versions of the Q60. The similarities are actually even more striking when the convertible’s special three-piece "clamshell" retractable hardtop is closed. But for what its worth, Infiniti could have done the Q60 a serious favor with a fresh exterior upgrade. We actually expected the company to do exactly that with the name change, but certain parts of the car still evoke images of the “old” G37. Not that it’s an issue or anything, but a name change could’ve been more effective with styling changes to complement it.

In any case, the model is still well-proportioned, which is a good thing for a convertible and its traditionally complicated aesthetics. The flowing front fenders and the wave-like hood are signature Infiniti designs, as is the brand’s signature, 4-bar, double-arch grille design. Subtle chrome accents were also added into the mix, giving the model a more upscale look.

Unfortunately, those L-shaped HID bi-functional xenon headlamps are a little dissappointing. Functionally, they’re incredible. But Infiniti could’ve done the Q60 Convertible a favor by transferring a little more of the Q70  into it. The former is, after all, the middle ground model that’s seen as the best combination of luxury styling and aggressive performance.

The rear section looks a lot better, partly because of the LED taillights that Infiniti describes as incorporating a ‘circle of light’ design, a unique design characteristic for the Q60 line. The chrome rear trunk finisher is another design highlight, integrating a high-mount stoplight and a small camera for rear view monitoring for good measure.

Infiniti gets a lot of high marks from us for the quality of the Q60 Convertible’s interior. Simply put, it succeeds in establishing a dual personality that speaks to the sophisticated clientele the company wants to impress.

The configuration is laid out nicely with plenty of space for both the driver and the front passenger. The special sport-styled front seats look like they’re comfortable to sit on, plus they’re available in three colors: Graphite, Wheat or Stone.

Oh, and let’s not forget about the Silk-Obi aluminum interior trim, which the company says was inspired by fine Japanese silk. It’s spread across the instrument panel, on the center console and on the door panels, creating an visually stimulating appearance of class and luxury.

Notice also how the instrument panel is typical Infiniti, complete with the electroluminescent instrumentation and the white illumination color scheme, integrated multi-function information drive computer display, and signature analog clock. Guess old habits die hard when it comes to the instrumentation panel, huh?

We now move to arguably the most important part of the interior: the double hand-stitched leather-covered steering wheel that comes with standard wheel-mounted audio, cruise controls, and solid magnesium paddle shifters. This highly functional steering wheel puts all of the important controls right at the tip of your fingers.

The Infiniti Q60 Convertible benefits from a bigger engine than its German rivals, specifically the BMW 4 Series Convertible  and the Audi A5 Convertible  . This is an important advantage for the Q60 because it can’t win a battle of perception against its German rivals.

To combat its lack of brand cache, Infiniti dropped a 3.7-liter V-6 into the car’s engine bay, giving the Q60 Convertible 325 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 267 pound-feet of torque at 5,200 rpm to play with. These numbers allow the Q60 Convertible to spring from 0 to 60 mph in about 5.7 seconds to go with an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.

Having this entire package on the Q60 Convertible will understandably hike the car’s price tag. So it comes as no surprise that the base Q60 has a price of $48,550 while the Q60S Convertible 6MT retails for $53,400.

Those numbers don’t include the added options listed below so if you’re looking to give your Q60 Convertible more shine, expect to add another $3,000 to $5,000 on that price list. That’s taking into account the options you might get for your new convertible sedan.