DETROIT AUTO SHOW: How HIGH Performance Will The Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge' Be?

This week when Agent009 posted a story asking about the possibility of a NISMO Infinti Q50, it caught my eye. Mostly because I don't think Infinti would cross-brand something when it already has its nascent IPL division.

What's interesting about last week's announcement is that the company is blatantly stating it is a Formula One inspired concept. We know that the company has Sebastian Vettel on board as the Director of Performance — granted, we don't know how much of that is honorary or legit — and the concept Q50 is named after a corner at the Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

This wouldn't be the first F1-inspired concept to grace the brand as a Vettel-branded car based on the FX50 was created. The problem with the Vettel edition was simple. It was high on style but the power bump wasn't significant. Oh, and it cost a TON of dough.

All that said, what do YOU want to see Infiniti do?

Should Infiniti take its IPL division to the next level with tech derived from its unbelievably performing GT-R or keep it simple with another Vettel edition Infiniti? Place your bet folks, Detroit is only so far away...


Infiniti's press release follows:

Infiniti to Reveal Formula One Inspired Concept at Detroit Show

Hong Kong – Infiniti will reveal a Formula One inspired concept car based on the Q50 premium sports sedan at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The concept car represents Infiniti's design vision of a high performance variant of Q50. Called 'Q50 Eau Rouge', the car is named after the world-famous corner at the Formula One track in Spa-Francorchamps, a corner which requires extraordinary strength, courage and commitment; it has seen some of the most incredible driving feats in Formula One history. For Infiniti, the Q50 Eau Rouge concept blends road car technology and a thoroughbred motorsport vision.

The Q50 Eau Rouge features aerodynamic styling treatments and design elements which are influenced by Infiniti's partnership with Formula One world championship-winning team Infiniti Red Bull Racing.

"Performance is a key pillar of Infiniti's DNA and this car expresses a deepened design interpretation of that. The Q50, with an abundance of technologies, provides a great basis for an extreme performance version, embodied in the design of Q50 Eau Rouge," said Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti's Executive Design Director.

MattDarringer - 12/9/2013 8:40:21 AM

+2 Boost

Step one replace IPL (ipple) with something better. There is NOTHING wrong with Infinitis having a Nismo trim level.

Drerx8 - 12/9/2013 2:14:15 PM

+1 Boost

Probably IPL'd. So high friction off the rack Nismo brake pads, Intake/Exhaust/ECU "Tune" adding 20 or so horsepower. I'm not counting down to the reveal. It looks like the design elements will probably be something along the lines of Audi RS badged cars. I would be shocked if Infiniti dropped more than 360HP in this model. The Hybrid I believe is rated with the 350HP number...so 355/360HP all motor is my guess.

kysrsoze1 - 12/9/2013 11:57:39 PM

+1 Boost

i hope this isn't another high-priced joke like the IPL line has been. A 10 hp bump, with a few visual cues, somewhat better brakes and questionable suspension upgrades isn't work an extra $10K+ to me.

Since the original G37, the torque figure on the VQ35 and VQ37 has never been over 270 lbs.-ft., and it feels to me as the torque curve isn't exactly flat. Without some sort of forced induction, like the GTR, the car is never going to be in the same league as the S/RS, AMG, M (335, really), etc. I don't understand their aversion to making a serious machine like that, particularly when they supposedly now have freedom from the rest of Nissan's decision making.