The QX50’s award-winning steel is stronger and lighter, improving fuel economy and enhancing safety.

Kentaro Ishiuchi, from the Infiniti and Nissan Technical Center North America, recently accepted the SAE/AISI Sydney H. Melbourne Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Automotive Steel Sheet from SAE International.

The award highlights the pioneering work that went into engineering the Infiniti QX50 using 980MPa steel. This high-tensile steel is lighter, which improves fuel economy, and stronger, which improves safety. In addition, since the steel is stronger, the sections become smaller, which results in more interior space.

Infiniti claims that roughly 27% of the QX50 body is made from special steels, resulting in a 23kg mass reduction overall.