Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge to cost over $100,000?

Fri, 06 Jun 2014

Enthusiasts have been clamoring for Infiniti to build a car like the Q50 Eau Rouge for years. In concept form, it employs the GT-R's much-loved 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6, tuned to produce 560 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, with the whole works slid underneath fetching luxury sedan bodywork with carbon fiber aero aids. At this point, the model is rumored to be all but certain for production. The company recently even put Sebastian Vettel in one to show it off. However, Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen is suggesting that the model's lifetime could be brief, limited and rather expensive.

The Infiniti boss recently gave a long interview to Motor Trend that spilled a lot of beans about the Eau Rouge. While he refused to officially admit that the super sedan was on the way, he admits that he's "pushing the Eau Rouge concept for commercialization."

According to de Nysschen, if built, the production version will hew closely to the concept with the engine from the GT-R, but the seven-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive system will come from the Q70. And while that would make the Eau Rouge a performance powerhouse, it might also be a rarity on the road:

"I would have to say in order to set expectations, we're probably looking at a $100,000 car. We are probably also looking at 250-500 units a year. So that's low volume. And we probably have, in terms of my current expectation, only a two-year life cycle."

Even at that price – which puts it in the neighborhood of the GT-R that donates its engine – de Nysschen expects that Infiniti will lose money on each one, in part because so much of the work will have to be done by hand. However, getting the high-performance project done would be a breakthrough for the company and possibly open doors for more models to use the powertrain – even a possible coupe.

De Nysschen certainly seems bullish about it, and the Eau Rouge could be the perfect way to say sayonara to the current GT-R. With the next generation heavily rumored to opt for a hybrid powertrain to match the company's LMP1 endurance racer, the current engine deserves a proper sendoff.

By Chris Bruce