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.