An Infiniti with Godzilla's Heart!

Photos courtesy of Infinity.

Infiniti has dropped a huge bomb with the Q50 Eau Rouge Concept, and I mean that in the best way possible. The concept car was first unveiled during the Detroit Auto Show (okay, okay, it's now called the North American International Auto Show, but still...). There was a pretty big stir about the car back then, mostly because it was based on a Q50 but just about every body panel was completely different, making it look oh so much better. The real show-stopper was the candy-coated red paint job, which I showed excitedly to my wife like a little eight-year-old boy looking at a toy catalog. The car was beautiful and was a good design study, but that was about it.
And then Infiniti popped the hood.

Everyone gasped, because hiding under that hood was Godzilla's engine! Yes, that's right, Infiniti "borrowed" the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 from the Nissan GT-R. If that doesn't mean much to you, hopefully this does: 560 horsepower and 442 lb.-ft. of torque, all-wheel drive with a 50/50 front-to-rear torque split, 0 to 60 mph in under four seconds, and a top speed of 180 mph! (Check out the video at the end of the post to hear the monstrous engine and turbos in action)

All of that hot performance is wrapped in a highly aerodynamic body that provides optimal downforce at the front and rear during track runs (because we would never drive that fast on an empty country road -- oh no). Infiniti says it put the car together using all of its knowledge it has gained from Formula One racing.

Will the Q50 Eau Rouge ever become a production vehicle? We can only hope, right? At the very least, it will likely influence Infiniti to make more high-performance models, especially since Lexus is now turning up the heat with its F Sport vehicles. And let's be honest, Infiniti does performance so very much better than Lexus.