Infiniti takes advantage of its Formula 1 sponsorship deal as much as it can – and who can blame them for that? After hiring Sebastian Vettel as their director of performance and launching the Infiniti FX Vettel Edition, Nissan’s luxury brand will unveil a Formula One inspired concept car based on the Q50 premium sports sedan at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.
Called the Q50 Eau Rouge after the fearsome corner of the Spa-Francorchamps Formula One track, Infiniti says the concept car represents the brand’s “design vision of a high performance variant of Q50”. It should be an exciting car, as the carmaker adds the Q50 Eau Rouge concept blends road car technology and a thoroughbred motorsport vision.
The study, which appears to be a pre-production concept judging from the teaser photo, features aerodynamic styling upgrades and design elements that are influenced by Infiniti’s partnership with the F1 world championship-winning team Infiniti Red Bull Racing.
The aerodynamic upgrades visible in the teaser photo are front wing and splitter that remind of a Formula One car, as well as the bonnet scoops and LED fog lights.
“Performance is a key pillar of Infiniti‘s DNA, and this car expresses a deepened design interpretation of that. The Q50, with an abundance of technologies, provides a great basis for an extreme performance version, embodied in the design of Q50 Eau Rouge,” said Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti’s Executive Design Director.
No details regarding powertrain upgrades were offered, but we’ll no doubt learn more about that when the car debuts in Detroit. Let’s just hope Infiniti decides to build it.
By Dan Mihalascu
PHOTO GALLERY
