The Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge, revealed at the 2014 NAIAS Detroit Motor Show, is a concept car that expresses Infiniti's design vision of a high-performance Q50 premium sports sedan.

The Q50 Eau Rouge embodies the arresting design features of the Q50 premium sports sedan - infused with the enticing spirit of Formula One.

Featuring bespoke aerodynamic carbon fiber bodywork, Q50 Eau Rouge is lower and wider, possessing genuine road presence. This striking design is inspired by muscularity, aerodynamics, refinement, and understated power.

"If we built this car I would expect it to feature over 500hp and 600lb/ft 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. 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," said Johan de Nysschen, President of Infiniti Motor Company Limited.

Hints at powerful intent

The Q50 Eau Rouge was born out of competition at the very pinnacle of motorsport, mirroring components from the successful RB9 race car.

Almost every exterior panel is bespoke to the Q50 Eau Rouge, with only the front doors and the arch of the roof pillars retained as standard components.

Q50 Eau Rouge visibly hunkers down with menace and intent. New front and rear fenders extend the current Q50's already broad-shouldered stance by 20mm, while a larger deck lid spoiler creates air-pressure downforce. All of this dynamic width is wrapped in a tailored coat of customized red paint.

Framing the paintwork across the Q50 Eau Rouge's athletic physique is dark-chrome detailing to replace the chrome bright work of the production Q50, darkening the concept's demeanor dramatically.

Q50's signature double-arch front grille too 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 as a further suggestion of the capability and purpose of the Q50 Eau Rouge.
"From our shared passion for performance with Infiniti Red Bull Racing grew a collective desire to produce an ambitious and powerful Infiniti Q50 design study. The overall design creates a feeling of refined muscularity," said Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti's Executive Design Director.

"The design has a number of distinctive Formula-One inspired touches. In particular, the sculpted front wing assembly and the rear aerodynamic packaging take their cues from the RB9 race car. The rear fog light packaging is unmistakably Formula One.
"The Q50 Eau Rouge is a combination of the seductive lines of the Q50 but with a fiercer design urge in keeping with a high-performance vehicle. The Q50 Eau Rouge is Infiniti to the power of four; like a bull with its shoulder muscles flexed, a bull in Infiniti clothing."
Part of the concept's exterior treatments include lightweight 21-inch forged alloy wheels which fill the wider arches.

Premium interior. Sporting inspiration

Further underlining the sporty character of the design study, the interior was designed to offer command and comfort.

Further precision control is afforded by a high-grip sports steering wheel and Formula One-style paddle-shifters.

Red-infused carbon fiber detailing to the doors and center console complement the exterior style, and dark-chrome again replaces silver-chrome in the red cockpit.

The breadth and depth of capability is self-evident; the Q50 Eau Rouge is a design concept that clearly indicates what Infiniti could achieve if it was to build a performance version of the Q50 sports sedan.

"Performance is a key ingredient of Infiniti vehicles such as the Q50 sports sedan. Our involvement in Formula One provides inspiration and excellence to our designers and engineers. Q50 Eau Rouge provides not only a glimpse of the design language, but also the performance capability of a future special series," de Nysschen added.

At January’s Detroit auto show Infiniti made a case for recognition in the international sports sedan derby with the Eau Rouge concept, a Q50 dressed up with aero tweaks, lowered ride height, widened track, bigger wheels, bigger footprints, fender flares, fore and aft splitters, and carbon fiber galore.

The idea was to exploit Infiniti’s connection with the F1 world-champion Red Bull racing team, and to hint that Nissan’s luxury division might soon bring some Grand Prix-style performance to the street. The only Eau Rouge performance element left vague was what lay under that carbon-fiber hood. Infiniti president Johan de Nysschen would only say that if the car became reality he’d “expect it to feature over 500 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque.”

At Geneva, de Nysschen’s expectations became specific: 560 horsepower and 443 lb-ft from a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6. That’s a little light on the torque prediction—could it be that de Nysschen said pound-feet when he meant newton meters? (Clue: 600 Nm = 442.5 lb-ft)

Prior to the Geneva unveiling, de Nysschen announced that Infiniti would fortify the Eau Rouge Q50 by bolting a “powerful heart into our blood red beast.” But where did this powerful heart come from? Wait a minute—3.8 liters, specifically 3799 cc. That sounds strangely familiar. Could this be another edition of the Nissan GT-R V-6, lightly massaged by the NISMO skunkworks? Sure it could. The standard GT-R is rated for 545 horsepower and 463 lb-ft, and the NISMO version for 595 and 481.

In the Eau Rouge, the turbo V-6 is mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The weight—unspecified—is distributed 50/50, and Infiniti predicts a 0-to-60-mph time of less than 4.0 seconds with a top speed “close to 180 mph.” Those numbers would make it the hottest vehicle ever to wear an Infiniti logo.

This presumes production, of course. Named for the hold-your-breath series of turns at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps racing circuit, the Eau Rouge remains a concept, though a showroom-ready version seems likely.

Production certainty applies to another Q50 that shared Infiniti’s Geneva spotlight. This one sports a new 2.0-liter turbo four, rated for 211 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque, and driving the rear wheels via a new seven-speed automatic. The 2.0 Q50 will go on sale in China this spring, Europe in the fall, and other markets late in the year.