Infiniti’s Q50 Eau Rouge concept – just as we suspected – is a $75,000, 4-door GT-R

By Trevor Dermody March 4, 2014

Infiniti has always been an underdog in the luxury car market. As Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti has always been overshadowed by European luxury manufacturers and homeland big-kid-on-the-block Lexus.

The brand found a small break in the G series that delivered a sporty image but never got an insane performance variant, like that of BMW’s M or Mercedes’ AMG models. The Q50 Eau Rouge, although a concept, is Infiniti’s crack at the luxury hyper-performance market … oh, and it has a GT-R engine.

Differentiating itself from Godzilla, the Eau Rogue’s 3.6-liter GT-R V6 engine is controlled by an Infiniti Performance ECU. The beastly six-cylinder puts out 560 horsepower and 443 pound-feet. The concept uses the Infiniti four-wheel drive system found in the new QX70, featuring a 50/50 torque split.

The Eau Rogue concept routes all of its 560 ponies through a seven-speed automatic transmission that aids a 0 to 60 time of less than 4.0 seconds. Top speed for the Eau Rouge is said to be 180 mph.

The concept also boasts several other upgrades, including behemoth brakes, 20-inch aluminum alloy wheels, a carbon fiber front bumper, and an ultra-fancy carbon rear bumper with LED brake lights inspired by the Red Bull Formula 1 car.

Even though the Q50 Eau Rogue is only a concept at the moment, Infiniti is clearly attempting to prove it can run with the Euro luxury brands and produce a legitimate sports car model. Pricing for a production version is expected to be around $75,000, which I think is a steal considering the GT-R is over $90k.

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