Right between the massively powerful and dynamically competent Nissan GT-R and the not-so-impressive 370Z sportscar, Nissan has a wide-open market gap. Today at the Detroit Auto Show, we learned that this gap could be filled with an Infiniti, by the Q50 compact premium sedan in fact.
The Q50 Eau Rouge concept has been officially revealed, providing a glimpse into the design language of a potential future model.
"If we built this car I would expect it to feature over 500hp and 600lb-ft of torque," said Johan de Nysschen, President of Infiniti.
500 horsepower would make this the BMW M3 and Mercedes C63 AMG's arch nemesis. Heck, it would shame a Corvette C7 and probably stand toe to toe with an oder model M5. 600 lb-ft is also a big number. That's 813 Nm to you metric lovers, which is more than the E63 AMG S-model. It's a crazy number that can only come from forced induction or hybridization.
How are they ever going to deliver that kind of power? Nysschen gives us a clue" The engine we are evaluating for the Q50 Eau Rouge is a big personality, V-cylinder engine with forced induction. I think our engineers have been waiting for a project like this."
While they're trying to figure out the powertrain, the design of the body is ready. Putting the Q50 on steroids has basically left no body panel intact. This concept has carbon fiber everything, in a widening style similar to every other luxury to sports sedan conversion. But while every M, RS or AMG has fender flares, none have F1-inspired front and rear valences.
"If we built this car I would expect it to feature over 500hp and 600lb-ft of torque," said Johan de Nysschen, President of Infiniti.
500 horsepower would make this the BMW M3 and Mercedes C63 AMG's arch nemesis. Heck, it would shame a Corvette C7 and probably stand toe to toe with an oder model M5. 600 lb-ft is also a big number. That's 813 Nm to you metric lovers, which is more than the E63 AMG S-model. It's a crazy number that can only come from forced induction or hybridization.
How are they ever going to deliver that kind of power? Nysschen gives us a clue" The engine we are evaluating for the Q50 Eau Rouge is a big personality, V-cylinder engine with forced induction. I think our engineers have been waiting for a project like this."
While they're trying to figure out the powertrain, the design of the body is ready. Putting the Q50 on steroids has basically left no body panel intact. This concept has carbon fiber everything, in a widening style similar to every other luxury to sports sedan conversion. But while every M, RS or AMG has fender flares, none have F1-inspired front and rear valences.