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"  Weeks ahead of its official debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, Popular Mechanics took a sneak peek at the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Concept at Metalcrafters in Los Angeles, and spoke with the manufacturer&amp;#039;s global design director, Alfonso Albaisa to get the inside scoop on the hopped up sedan. With its matte primer finish and stripped out interior, it seemed hard to imagine the Infiniti concept named after the famed curve at the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps Formula 1 track would be ready for prime time in just a few short weeks. But the concept&amp;#039;s body, which was derived from a full-sized clay mockup that had been studied (and green-lit) by Infiniti honcho Johan de Nysschen, was transformed by a total of eight coats base coat and clear coat, not to mention assertive visual bolstering throughout. &amp;quot;This is very bullish, squat, and hunkered down with the musculature of a bull,&amp;quot; Albaisa told Popular Mechanics, &amp;quot;instead of a cheetah, which is maybe what more people see Infiniti as-- more silky.&amp;quot; The Eau Rouge&amp;#039;s visual presence been strengthened with F1-inspired aero features, GT-R-like hood nostrils, more aggressively curved carbon fiber fenders, 20mm wider hips, and larger 21&amp;quot; wheels. According to an official statement, de Nysschen says, &amp;quot;If we built this car I would expect it to feature over 500 hp and 600 lb/ft of torque,&amp;quot; which would put the souped-up Q50 in the company of supersedans like the Cadillac CTS-V, BMW M5, and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.   Albaisa hinted that de Nysschen is keen on the idea of this concept car being capable of reaching production with serious performance capabilities. &amp;quot;He [de Nysschen] dreams of making this kind of car, so he was all over the details,&amp;quot; Albaisa told us. He also suggested that if this performance variant made it to production, it wouldn&amp;#039;t necessarily fall under the brand&amp;#039;s IPL performance division. &amp;quot;This is purely linked to F1,&amp;quot; he said, reinforcing Infiniti&amp;#039;s mantra that they want the high-profile racing platform to help elevate the brand&amp;#039;s global reach. As for whether or not the Eau Rouge will reach serial production, we reckon the beastly Q50 stands a decent chance of viability-- especially given the platform&amp;#039;s newness, the fact that the concept seems designed within the realm of reality, and the fact de Nysschen, who inherited the car from a previous regime, doesn&amp;#039;t himself seem completely convinced of the off-the-shelf Q50&amp;#039;s greatness.  Our thoughts? A 500 hp, 600 lb-ft supersports version of the Q50 would go a long way toward bumping Infiniti up on our &amp;quot;Want&amp;quot; list. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a9942/naias-infiniti-q50-eau-rouge-concept/>