This is the Infiniti Eau Rouge Concept, revealed at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) inDetroit– pretty right? But could it be yet another M3 fighter just waiting for its chance? Not officially, as for now it is purely a styling concept, but Infiniti are strongly hinting at production – YAY!
Based on the upcoming Infiniti Q50, this concept is named after the Eau Rouge high-speed corner at the Spa-Francorchamps race circuit inBelgium. The design is said to take much influence from Formula 1 and from the Infiniti Red Bull Racing team.
The Eau Rouge features a host of bespoke aerodynamic carbon fibre bodywork, and sits lower and wider than the production model Q50. While the appearance may seem to be similar to the production car, almost every panel is custom made for the Eau Rouge, with only the front doors and the arch of the roof pillars retained as standard components. Also aiding the visual aesthetics of the Eau Rouge are 21-inch alloys filling wider arches. The interior of the Q50 ER features a “high-grip steering wheel”, paddle shifters, and carbon fibre, red, and chrome detailing to enhance the sportiness of the concept.
But what if it reaches production? Will the Q50 Eau Rouge take on the M3? While no engine has been confirmed, Johan de Nysschen, President of Infiniti Motor Company Limited stated, “If we built this car I would expect it to feature over 373kW and 814Nm 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.”
As the Nissan GT-R’s V6 engine doesn’t match the claimed torque figure, we’re left to assume Infiniti will utilise a 4.0 twin-turbo V8, and thee are rumours that they may source this from AMG.
For now, the Eau Rouge is just a concept, but it looks sexy, it’s got a name that sounds perfect, and if the claimed power figures come to fruition, perhaps the M3 could be too small a competitor for the Infiniti, which looks set to attach the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Edition with this model… if they produce it.
See full image gallery below:
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