Wednesday 19th February 2014

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge 'ready to roar'

Infiniti further teases 'big personality V-cylinder engine with forced induction' for Q50 Eau Rouge

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Is Nissan really about to donate the GT-R engine to premium brand Infiniti for the Q50 Eau Rouge? The question will be answered definitively at Geneva but to tease our appetites ahead of the show Infiniti has released a video offering a clue to what it'll sound like.

Headphones ready? OK, what do you think?

Well, the line trotted out at Detroit and again in the press release accompanying this video is a "big personality, V-cylinder engine with forced induction". Yup, sounds that way.

In our last story, post-Detroit reveal, we quoted Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen as saying "If we built this car I would expect it to feature over 500hp and 600lb ft of torque."

Q50 - now has mouth to go with trousers

In this new press release he goes - a little - further. "We thought it only fitting the Q50 Eau Rouge's beating heart was suitably sporting. Our engineers have perfectly captured the tone of Infiniti's take on premium performance, and a car that is as impressive as the Q50 Eau Rouge sounds is surely a car to challenge performance cars in the premium sector."

But would the GT-R team really offer up the near-fetishised VR38DETT engine - handbuilt in cleanrooms by specially trained engineers - to another team? The engine is a key element in the GT-R's unique identity so you'd have to expect they'd put up a fight.

And that promise of 600lb ft goes against the GT-R engine too - it'll comfortably do the 500hp-plus thing but even in the 600hp NISMO version offers 'just' 481lb ft. True, the 3.8-litre capacity would be on a par with the 4.0-litre turbo V8 coming in the new C63 AMG and that already in the Audi RS6, as well as satisfy markets where engines over 4.0-litres are penalised on tax.

But to hit that torque figure surely Infiniti needs a V8? It might look in-house to the Nissan-derived 5.0-litre V8 used in its own QX70. In normally aspirated form it delivers 390hp and 369lb ft but with the promised turbos could do the numbers. Then again the sound clip doesn't sound especially V8. So maybe a revised VR38DETT tuned for torque as well as horsepower might be it after all.

Whatever the engine, it looks like with this and the Lexus RC F the Germans aren't going to have it all their own way with the next generation of fast coupes and saloons.

 

[Esseesse]

Sick of all these over-styled, over-curvey blobby cars. The front is horrendous.

[dukebox9reg]

Sounds healthy enough. Thought this was just meant to be a badging exercise. Glad its not

[ndj]

Great video.....

[vz-r_dave]

It looks no worse than an M5 IMO, the best looking of the lot is still the E Class. I'd take it over the German's.

[toerag]

they need to work on those emissions.

[mr2j]

Put that engine in something smaller!

[Challo]

I really like that. Makes a big change from the big german makes which can only be a good thing.

Unless they make a 4 pot diesel with amazing emissions they are always going to struggle to gain market share.

[jimAtr]

The video seemed to include noises from numerous engines?

I did like the sneezey turbo bit.

[mr2j]

It all sounds like the same engine to me. I got quite indifferent to/bored of a sneezey dump valve within a couple of weeks so I'd probably end up looking into options to recirc/dull that one down somehow. I hope it doesn't have those simulated crackly upshifts that have absolutely no relation to the fueling any more.

[Four Litre]

Looks like a facelifted ISF!

[IATM]

hell yes!! love it! on the list of cars to buy!

[Remagel2507]

Hmm I quite like that, and that engine in the Q60 (Formally G37) could be very interesting.

My uncle imported an old Infiniti FX from Dubai long before the brand was introduced in the UK, I didn't reckon much to it then but the newer models are a definite improvement. I'm still not sure if I would pick any of the range over the German rivals though

[NXXN]

Well the Q50 *is* sold as a Skyline in Japan.

[Pesty]

looks great to me.

[bobberz]

Yes, but will they actually build it? If it's simply going to be a one-off concept, it's almost completely irrelevant.

I hope Infiniti have the balls to build it, as I actually quite like the overall look of it (extremely fussy nose notwithstanding). I also like the way 600 lb.-ft. of torque sounds; a nice, fat, round number. Mmmm, torque...

[treetops]

A bit bloated Mit Evo front end.

Why not - I like it, more exclusive than any BMW / Merc on the class.