The Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge has been revealed at the 2014 NAIAS in Detroit. It is a concept car that serves as a design vision of a high-performance variant of the Q50 sports sedan (Infiniti Skyline in Japan), which made its debut in Motor City a year ago. Looks menacing, doesn't it?
Featuring bespoke aerodynamic carbon fibre bodywork, Eau Rouge is lower and wider than the standard car. Almost every exterior panel is bespoke, with only the front doors and the arch of the roof pillars carried over from the stock Q50.
New front and rear fenders extend the 3-Series rival's already broad-shouldered stance by 20 mm, while a larger deck lid spoiler creates air-pressure downforce.
The sedan's customised red paint is matched with dark-chrome detailing in place of chrome bright work. The Q50's double-arch front grille also takes the dark-chrome's matte finish, as do the glasshouse surrounds, door handles and deck lid accents. The curving hood is double air-vented.
Infiniti is the title partner of F1 champs Red Bull Racing, so it's only natural for the Eau Rouge to be F1-inspired. The sculpted front wing assembly and the rear aero packaging take their cues from Seb Vettel's RB9 race car. The rear fog light packaging is unmistakably F1, too.
Inside, the red hot Q50 boasts a "high-grip" sports steering wheel, paddle shifters, red-infused carbon fibre detailing to the doors and center console, plus dark-chrome trim.
Flight of fancy? This car will make production, without a doubt. "If we built this car I would expect it to feature over 500 hp and 800 Nm of torque. Through our various alliance partners we have access to a range of engines featuring this performance capability which, with a fair amount of engineering effort, can be developed to exhibit Infiniti character and accommodated within the Q50 engine bay," said Johan de Nysschen, president of Infiniti.
"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," de Nysschen further hinted.
An Mercedes-powered Infiniti to take on the F30 BMW M3 - what do you think? Previewed at KLIMS13, the Infiniti Q50 is set to arrive in Malaysia in the second quarter of this year with a Daimler-sourced 2.0 litre four-cylinder turbo engine.
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