Hani Joudi 
In honor of INFINITI’s 35th anniversary, today we look back on the J30, sharing lesser-known details about the sleek and daring sedan.
The J30 arrived with a design that literally exemplified INFINITI’s approach to thinking “outside the box”.
Avoiding the ‘tyranny of the wedge’
At its launch in 1992, INFINITI executives said the J30 was designed “to break away from the tyranny of the wedge”. Unlike many of the boxy and angular sedans of the early nineties, the INFINITI J30 presented a sleek alternative.
The North American brochure for the J30 proclaimed the model to be “A car that reflects, rather than defines, the personality of its owner.”
Like its design, INFINITI’s approach to bringing the J30 to market, was anything but conventional. Positioned as a “Personal Luxury Sedan” ahead of its arrival in showrooms, potential buyers in the U.S. could sign-up to receive a free VHS videocassette titled “A curious journey” along with an invitation for a “personal guest drive”.
Alfonso Albaisa’s first involvement with INFINITI
Back in 1992 there was no mistaking the INFINITI J30 for any other model on the road, and its memory lives on, particularly for current Senior Vice President of Global Design, Alfonso Albaisa,, who played a role in its exterior design.
The J30 was the first INFINITI Albaisa worked on and the first full-model design program that he was involved with from start to finish. Designed at Nissan Design International (NDI) in La Jolla, California, the J30 sort to cut through the cluttered sedan segment with design that was deliberately provocative.
About the Author
