The new rear-wheel drive model joins the existing 2.2-litre diesel and V6 petrol-electric hybrid and is based on a turbocharged petrol 4-cylinder engine with 258lb.ft of torque and 208bhp with a 7-speed automatic transmission.

Starting from £31,755, the petrol engine is slightly cheaper than the diesel version but it only comes as an automatic and starts from the Premium grade – no SE trim is offered. Economy figures been confirmed as 44.8mpg combined with CO2 emissions of 146g/km.

The Mercedes-designed engine is being produced by Infiniti’s Tennessee-based facility and is being used for the Europe-only Q50 and Mercedes C-Class.

First revealed in Europe at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in March and already launched in China, the Q50 petrol will make its sales debut in Europe in autumn before rolling out to the rest of Infiniti’s global markets by year end.

Infiniti added that over the next five years it will increase its model range by 60% and more than double the number of its powertrains.