Officially, the Q50 Eau Rouge Prototype is still that – a concept test-bed – but Infiniti continues to make plenty of noise about the potential VR38DETT-powered, all-wheel drive super saloon. The latest promotion involved a race around Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium – home of the legendary high-speed corner ‘Eau Rouge’, from where the machine takes it name.
The competition pitted four-time defending F1 World Champion and Infiniti’s Director of Performance, Sebastian Vettel, against race driver and journalist, Parker Kligerman, and professional Chinese pool player, Pan Xaoting. The twist: each driver only had a limited amount of time in which to complete the challenge – something determined by how much social media interaction they could individually muster in the weeks leading up to the race. One social media action equated to one millisecond of time, and on the day the winner was determined by the distance they covered within the allocation, so speed and clean driving also played an important role.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Y5NHg_GsA
Considering Vettel’s credentials, let alone the fact that he netted the most available time, it’s not surprising who won – albeit having a wet track to contend with during his run. But it’s a neat short film all the same. And for the record (mostly because the clip doesn’t completely reveal it) Vettel managed 8.748km in 04:10:920, Xaoting 7.300km in 04:00:050, and Kligerman 6.241km in 03:02:370.
Don’t be surprised if our Publisher gets her driving gloves on to bring you an exclusive first-hand impression of the Q50 Eau Rouge Prototype in the near future…
Brad Lord
brad@speedhunters.com
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
For some weird reason I actually like the car!
Love this car! So @itswhitenoise is going to thrash the prototype around?!?! Way cool. Can't wait!!! You guy get serious access!! Super psyched!!!
I agree, I think the car look great and sounded pretty nice.
So, do I hear European performance sedans killer?
Send a shoutout to Jalopnik for Kligerman!
Just to do some quick calculations based on your numbers:
1) Vettel: Average speed 121.59 km/h (=8.478km/251s*60*60) in Heavy Wet
2) Klingerman: Average speed 123.45 km/h (=6.241km/182s*60*60) in Dry
3) Pan: Average speed 109.5 km/h (=7.3km/240s*60*60) in Dry
It really highlights how good a driver Vettel is, that his average speed is only 2km/h slower than Klingerman in the heavy wet conditions.
Assemble the engine of the Nissan GT-R at the Infiniti Q50 has been a real success by this company ... But one thing I want to point out; With an engine of 568cv and 600Nm AWD ... In who segment we include it ... Firstly, and type of limousine, would go matched the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4?; But power (and I know that at the moment is a prototype), would compete Face to Face with the MB E Class, Audi A6 and BMW 5 Series.
Here open the discussion and I hope replies !!!
I think they need to improve the flank of this car. Right now, the front end has this aggresive, muscular look, but the sides are a bit flat and almost look 'weak'. When Infiniti address that, this will be one of the best looking sedans ever
am I the only one on here that the car looks are just blah? modern engineering leave no room for style anymore.
id happly take this over an M5!
Nikhil_P blasphemy
black bnr32 Nikhil_P agreed.
Common misconception. Eau Rouge is the little left hand kink at the bottom of the sweeping uphill right hander which is actually called Radillon. Eau rouge is named after a small creek which runs under the track at "Eau Rouge" corner.
Veecee8, shhhh !! Special undercover assignment - or two!! Looking forward to telling our Speedhunters all about it!
dangina looks like blah. goes like stink. i'm all for it
Nikhil_P me 2. its a sleeper! most people on the road would just overlook it as a normal infinity. i wonder how it compares to the gt-r as far as lap times... then we'd have a real euro sedan slayer!
Love infiniti (own one) and I'm impressed with both the look and performance of the car but this video was boring and pointless.
This car is going to be over a 100 grand and infinity wants to compare it to the m3 not m5. Also this will have a 2 year run maybe less then a 1000 made because they will be hand made. I'm sorry but this car won't hold a candle to the m3 let alone the m5 and lol at over a 100 grand wtf are they thinking lol at the guys who said they would take this over a m5
I hear less than 200 worldwide of which 100 are for the US. I have long lost my desire for BMW M3s after havin owned many - just lacking soul IMHO - Infiniti is taking a chance and i like it. GTR DNA and I have to believe a whole bunch of go fast goodies - can't wait for the Speedhunters drive and review!!
I can tell u never owned a m3 in ur life, calling the m3 souless lol first time I hear that. Even coming from a g owner that surprises me
Mantap