Photo: Infiniti
In case you were waiting for Nissan’s luxury sub-brand to launch a proper sportscar that would get rid of all the nasty plastics the GT-R has on board, you might have to pause for a moment.
Speaking to the press at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2015, Infiniti’s Vice-President Francois Goupil de Bouille said that the one car that was supposed to take up this challenge won’t be entering production.
We’re referring to the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Concept, of course, the design study that was shown by the Japanese as the logical evolution of the GT-R towards a market that still wants ludicrous performance but also a more premium finish.
The problem with making it reality lies in the profitability factor unfortunately and after crunching the numbers, the accountants found out that it wouldn’t be a cash cow and it was hardly worth the investment:
“It was originally presented as a prototype but after we evaluated sales numbers, we realized it was not realistic to produce it. It was just too costly. That was it. It is always a matter of balance of cost versus benefit, and we decided to reign in our costs,’’ said de Bouille.
While most manufacturers are trying to break into this exclusive club and failing consistently, the Japanese’s proposal wasn’t overlooked because they could actually deliver on their promise.
Nissan owns Infiniti and if the subsidiary were offered the technology used on the GT-R, this thing would’ve eaten its competition alive, using a 3.8-liter V6 with 560 HP and 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque.
Chip in the other bits and pieces like the transmission and electronics and the Eau Rouge had the weapons it needed to make the German trio a distant memory.
As bad as axing this concept might sound, there’s still hope. The same VP claims that Infiniti will try to put together a performance sub-brand that will challenge the M, quattro and AMG divisions in the future, but we have to be patient for now.
We’re referring to the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Concept, of course, the design study that was shown by the Japanese as the logical evolution of the GT-R towards a market that still wants ludicrous performance but also a more premium finish.
The problem with making it reality lies in the profitability factor unfortunately and after crunching the numbers, the accountants found out that it wouldn’t be a cash cow and it was hardly worth the investment:
“It was originally presented as a prototype but after we evaluated sales numbers, we realized it was not realistic to produce it. It was just too costly. That was it. It is always a matter of balance of cost versus benefit, and we decided to reign in our costs,’’ said de Bouille.
What are we missing out on?
When it was first introduced at Geneva last year, the Q50 Eau Rouge Concept was touted as a proper halo model that would take on the likes of the BMW M3, Mercedes-AMG C63 and Audi RS4 by Infiniti.While most manufacturers are trying to break into this exclusive club and failing consistently, the Japanese’s proposal wasn’t overlooked because they could actually deliver on their promise.
Nissan owns Infiniti and if the subsidiary were offered the technology used on the GT-R, this thing would’ve eaten its competition alive, using a 3.8-liter V6 with 560 HP and 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque.
Chip in the other bits and pieces like the transmission and electronics and the Eau Rouge had the weapons it needed to make the German trio a distant memory.
As bad as axing this concept might sound, there’s still hope. The same VP claims that Infiniti will try to put together a performance sub-brand that will challenge the M, quattro and AMG divisions in the future, but we have to be patient for now.
Google News