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

By Trevor Dermody Published March 1, 2016

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.

Topics

Photo Galleries

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Cars

Mini’s infotainment system is very charming, but still needs work

Main screen of the Mini infotainment system

When you think Mini, you probably don’t think of infotainment. Personally, I think of the British flag taillights, the distinct exterior, and the surprising room on the inside. But after driving the Mini John Cooper Works Countryman over the past week, infotainment might well be something I think of more often when it comes to Mini. It’s charming.

It also, however, suffers from all the traps that other legacy automakers fall into when it comes to software design. Mini has something on its hands here — but it still needs some work.
Bringing the charm
The first thing that stood out to me about the system when I got in the car was how fun it was. That all starts with the display. It’s round! No, it’s not curved — the screen is a big, round display sits in at 9.4 inches, and I found it plenty large enough for day-to-day use.

Cars

Plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular. Why? And will it continue?

Kia Niro EV Charging Port

There's a lot of talk about the idea that the growth in electric car sales has kind of slowed a little. It's not all that surprising -- EVs are still expensive, early adopters all have one by now, and they're still new enough to where there aren't too many ultra-affordable used EVs available. But plenty of people still want a greener vehicle, and that has given rise to an explosion in hybrid vehicle sales.

That's especially true of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which can be charged like an EV and driven in all-electric mode for short distances, and have a gas engine as a backup for longer distances or to be used in combination with electric mode for more efficient driving.

Cars

EV drivers are not going back to gas cars, global survey says

ev drivers are not going back to gas cars global survey says screenshot

Nearly all current owners of electric vehicles (EVs) are either satisfied or very satisfied with the experience, and 92% of them plan to buy another EV, according to a survey by the Global EV Drivers Alliance.

The survey of 23,000 EV drivers worldwide found that only 1% would return to a petrol or diesel car, while 4% would opt for a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) if they had to replace their car.