The Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 is not the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge. It’s a pity because the Eau Rouge was supposed to be the alter-ego of the Nissan GT-R, or at least that was the plan until Infiniti surprisingly shelved the car. So instead of the Q50 Eau Rouge, Nissan’s luxury brand decided to bestow the range-topping trim mantle to the Q50 Red Sport 400. It’s not that the Red Sport 400 is a bad car because it’s far from one. It’s got a nice look. It’s got 400 horsepower on tap. It’s also available in rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. But is it really the kind of car that will make fans of the brand forget that, at one point in time, Infiniti was this close to having its own version of Godzilla?
Ignition’s Jason Cammisa sought to answer that question when he took a close look at the Q50 Red Sport 400. He lays out the foundation for the car, including spiels on its power (400 horses and 350 pound-feet of torque) and features (a new version of Infiniti’s Direct Adaptive Steering system). According to Camissa, the Red Sport 400’s steer-by-wire system not only makes it the the first car to have this kind of steering, but it was also put in place as a “building block towards autonomous driving.”
There’s a lot to digest with Camissa’s review, and while he sometimes relies too much on his zany attempts at humor, he still does a good job touting the pros and cons of the car, right to the point wherein you start wondering if Infiniti should have just green-lit the Q50 Eau Rouge.
For what it’s worth, the Red Sport 400 is a nice car. But there’s just a voice in the back of my head that will forever wonder if Infiniti would’ve been better off using the Eau Rouge as its top-of-the-line model. Something to think about, right?
Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400
Read our full review on the Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 here.