Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Could Cost $100,000

As the development of the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge is inching closer to production, the company is finally revealing more details about its upcoming super sedan. And there's plenty of information for us to chew on coming straight from Infiniti boss Johan de Nysschen.

Speaking to Motor Trend, de Nysschen confirmed the Q50 Eau Rouge will be aimed at high-performance sedans such as the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, but stressed that the special-edition Q50 will be more exclusive than its German counterparts. Specifically, Infiniti plans to build between 250 and 500 units a year, making it one of the rarest high-performance cars in the segment.

But like in most cases, exclusivity comes with a hefty price tag, and the Eau Rouge, according to de Nysschen, could cost as much as $100,000. That's nearly $40,000 more than the base BMW M3 and definitely more than what most people are willing to spend on an Infiniti, even if it's a performance vehicle carrying a Nissan GT-R engine under the hood.

While paying in excess of $100,000 for an Infiniti doesn't make much sense, it appears that the expensive sticker is also related to a short, two-year life cycle and a complicated assembly process that involves plenty of meticulous handwork.

"We are probably also looking at 250-500 units a year. So that's low volume. And we probably have, in terms of my current expectation, only a two-year life cycle. So you have to amortize the development across that volume, and with a hand-built car, you have very high unit costs. Candidly, I assume, the current state of the business plan indicates that we will probably subsidize each car in order to keep it within reach," de Nyssche told Motor Trend.

When asked if the 560-horsepower engine borrowed from the Nissan GT-R will find its way into future Infiniti products, the representative said the VR38DETT mill could motivate "a high-end coupe, a real high-performance luxury 4-seater," and the upcoming Q60. Needless to say, it all depends on the technical feasibility and the success of the Q50 Eau Rouge.

Click past the jump to read more about the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge.

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Could Cost $100,000 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 6 June 2014 10:00 EST.

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