Infiniti Q50 With 400 HP Is An Eau Rouge Lite

With up to 400 horsepower in a new Q50 Red Sport 400 model, this V-6 is codenamed “VR” and seems a sure bet to propagate across the Infiniti lineup in the near future.

Infiniti’s answer to cars like the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class – gets a raft of updates for 2016 including a new 395bhp V6 engine.

When Infiniti first brought out its Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge concept earlier past year, we all pretty much stood up in our respective chairs and cheered.

Nissan’s luxury brand can now boast a Q50 sedan with a new 3.0-litre twin turbo V6 engine.

Earlier Tuesday Infiniti went ahead and unveiled its 2016 Infiniti Q50 sedan and satisfied a few of those auto journalists who lamented the untimely passing of the Eau Rouge as it was.

This new V6 engine is 700 cc smaller than Infiniti and Nissan’s previous VQ-series 3.7L unit, and it’s lighter too – The VR’s core structure weighs 194.8 kg, 14.1 kg less than the engine it replaces. Infiniti explains that this new system will not only allow the regular steering to be more responsive, it will also offer more options to match the driver’s preferences through a drive mode selector.

The more powerful version of the engine hits 400 hp at 6,400 rpm and 350 lb.-ft.

The 2016 Infiniti Q50 also debuts the company’s second-generation Direct Adaptive Steering system. High equipment for a lower price than its chief rival 340i ($89,900) is assured, however we also hope the steering and suspension changes in addition to the new twin-turbo V6 make this Japanese mid-sizer a vastly better drive. The Infiniti Q50 Hybrid also continues on for 2016, but continues to use the same 3.5-liter V-6 paired with electric motors for a total system output of 360 hp.

The most significant changes will occur under the hood.

Infiniti is strong in the automated safety technologies game, with a Driver Assistance Package that includes forward emergency braking, blind-spot warning, back-collision intervention, cross traffic alert, predictive forward collision warning, and the Around View Monitor with motion detection. It will be offered in base and Premium Q50 2.0t models beginning in late winter. Additional details will be available closer to when the 2016 QX60 arrives in Infiniti showrooms in late winter.