Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge
 

Geneva Motor Show: Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge has Godzilla heart

By David Undercoffler
March 5, 2014, 5:30 a.m.
Though some may consider Infiniti’s 560-horsepower Q50 Eau Rouge the spawn of Satan, it turns out that the all-wheel-drive sedan is actually closer to the spawn of Godzilla.

That’s the nickname of Nissan’s current GT-R supercar. When the Japanese automaker went looking for a powertrain to breathe some excitement into its luxury brand’s Q50, the GT-R’s twin-turbocharged V-6 was a perfect fit.

“Building on the extremely positive feedback on the Q50 Eau Rouge at its recent Detroit Auto Show launch, we decided to further whet the appetite of performance sports sedan fans by engineering this powerful heart into our blood-red beast,” Johan de Nysschen, president of Infiniti, said in a statement announcing the Eau Rouge at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday.

Infiniti named the Eau Rouge concept after a highly technical section of track on the Belgian F1 Grand Prix course. When the car debuted in Detroit, no powertrain details were disclosed. At the time, de Nysschen said only that if Infiniti were to build the car, it would use forced induction for “over 500 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque.”

This concept certainly delivers on the horsepower, though its torque falls a bit short, clocking in at a still-impressive 443 pound-feet. That power comes from the twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter V-6 that’s been raising pulses in the Nissan GT-R since this generation debuted in 2007.

Infiniti predicts a zero to 60 mph time of less than four seconds, and a top speed “close to 180 mph.” That power is pushed to all four wheels via a seven-speed transmission (no word on whether it’s fully automatic or a dual-clutch setup) and torque is split 50/50 front/rear.

Infiniti is mum on whether such a beast will actually reach production, saying only “the latest iteration of the Q50 Eau Rouge in Geneva underlines the company’s determination to create engaging performance cars for a premium segment.”

It would certainly have plenty of impressive company if it did, including BMW’s M3, the outgoing Mercedes C63 AMG, the Audi RS4 (not sold in the U.S.) and Lexus’ forthcoming RC F coupe.

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Those wheels on the eau rouge... :ohgodwhy:

yeah but CTS-V was powered by Corvette so meh,..

http://www.upphotos.net/wallpapers/2...-1080x1920.jpg

i love it :fullofwin:

even if they do not want to send that car into production, hopefully Infiniti offers an appearance package for that sweet ass front bumper

dont really like the front end, i like it and hate it at the same time, the red surround of the grill looks odd but otherwise its nice like the rest of the car

love the colour

hate that damn spindle grill

id much rather have this than a gtr to be honest :pokerface:

Because more room, even though the back seats are slightly tight
Posted via RS Mobile

But 4 doors = more.... You get the idea.


They need a wagon version.

I like all of it except for the bits that have been done in CF around the bottom, they all look ridiculous and the CF makes them even worse. Ignoring that though it looks like an awesome car.

From some pics, the cars Cf looks a bit brown than graphite colour, and in my opinion the car would look great in black
Posted via RS Mobile

ya i know but the gtr isnt exactly a feather weight itself either, it just seems more impressive to me if a car has 4 doors and can pull off ridiculous performance numbers, like the m5.

a wagon would be badass indeed, its a shame there arent that many wagons around nowadays, in NA anyways

There are wagons available but just not that many good kinds in North America such as the rs6 avant
Posted via RS Mobile

need to move to uk, the land where manuals are a plenty and you get variety by the bucket loads

absolutely loving this thing... cant wait to see what kind of numbers its going to put down.

^^ There's always the MB E63 S AMG Wagon...

That said, hopefully Nissan/Infiniti build this - an engine with so much potential would be great in a 4 door sedan. Naturally, it's competitors would be the RS4, M3, and C63, but I wonder what the pricing would be like though - the GTR is already 100k and if they price the Q50 at the same price, that's quite a bit higher than it's competitors.

The AWD system being 50/50 probably means it's not the same as the GT-R's ATTESA E-TS system and the 7 speed auto instead of the GT-R's dual clutch could save some money maybe? If they price it around 80k, they would definitely be in the ballpark...

4 Doors = more... Room for groceries??

Another car that your grandmother could run an 11 second quarter mile in

Came in here expecting Vettel to be driving full throttle through Eau-Rouge at Spa in the Q50

Left disappointed :okay:

I have to laugh that so many modern cars are like 450+ horsepower yet our speed limits have not changed at all and traffic is worse than ever!

Driving around Vancouver I can barely even use the 200 horsepower of my E36 5.0, woo low end torque!

If I'm lucky I can get a WOT 2nd gear pull once or twice in the city. :/

Cypress / Sea to Sky :thumbsup:

that stretch usually has air support when no units available on the hwy

A 560 horsepower car can go WOT for like 2 seconds before you're pretty much in license-losing territory

A 200 horsepower car you can actually go WOT for a lot longer before you're double the speed limit, haha.

Come drive the Coquihalla then. ;)