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ATTENTION-GRABBER THE INFINITI Q50 EAU ROUGE, ALTHOUGH STILL OFFICIALLY A CONCEPT CAR, HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO CHANGE PEOPLE’S PERCEPTION OF THE HONG KONG-HEADQUARTERED BRAND, WRITES BEN OLIVER.
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s the only carmaker headquartered here in Hong Kong, Infiniti And while Vettel probably doesn’t have the ought to be on your radar if you’re looking for a premium sedan, time to get too involved with Infiniti’s road cars, convertible or SUV. But there’s a good chance that Infiniti is the he clearly approves of the new Infiniti Q50 Eau luxury carmaker you’ve never heard of. And that’s both the brand’s Rouge. Officially, it’s just a concept car, but there’s appeal, and its biggest problem. little doubt that the marque plans to put this Infiniti is the luxury division of Nissan, established first in the beast into production: grabbing attention for this United States in 1989, and now sold in 50 markets around the reticent brand and radically globe. Nissan knew it could build cars as well – or better – than changing our notion of what This car, named after BMW, Audi or Mercedes, but knew that it couldn’t sell them Infiniti stands for. one of the most famous for premium prices with a Nissan badge on the nose. Toyota The Eau Rouge borrows and Honda realized much the same thing at around the same the mighty twin-turbocharged corners in motorsport time, launching their Lexus and Acura brands. Lexus has gone 3.4-litre V6 engine from Nissan’s at the Spa circuit in on to be the most popular, but all three have won a loyal fan GT-R budget supercar and Belgium, is a direct rival shoe-horns it into the existing base among buyers who love the qualities these brands share: for the super-sedans obsessive Japanese build quality, an emphasis on hush rather Infiniti Q50 sedan, giving it the than sportiness, and simply being different and more subtle same 560 horsepower output produced by BMW, than the usual German luxury brands. as the most powerful current Mercedes and Audi – But while being ‘under-the-radar’ is great for customers who Porsche 911. A seven-speed the M5, E63 and RS6. automatic gearbox means easy value discretion, it’s not so good for Nissan, which wants Infiniti to grow. It moved its headquarters here to Hong Kong in 2012 shifts in town, but a manual to encourage a focus on the China market, and to bring a fresh, more outward- mode means you can hold each gear to the looking approach to its global operations. In 2011 it became title sponsor of the redline and enjoy the full fury of this renowned Infiniti Red Bull Racing team and enjoyed three Formula One World Championships engine. Four-wheel drive means that power is in a row with Sebastian Vettel, who is the brand’s ‘Performance Director’. deployed securely, and the GT-R’s brakes mean 32
HK GOLFER・NOV 2014
HKGOLFER.COM
SCORECARD INFINITI Q50 EAU ROUGE How much? TBD Engine: 3.4-litre V6 twin turbo Transmission: 7-speed automatic, 4WD Performance: 0560hp, 0-100km/h: 3.8sec (estimated) 300km/h (estimated)
the Eau Rouge stops as suddenly as it starts. This car, named after one of the most famous corners in motorsport at the Spa circuit in Belgium, is a direct rival for the super-sedans produced by BMW, Mercedes and Audi – the M5, E63 and RS6. It is quite unlike any Infiniti that has gone before it, and when it goes on sale in around 18 months it will only account for a tiny fraction of the firm’s global sales. But as a means of linking Infiniti more closely to its F1 partner, and of getting the attention of luxury car buyers who might otherwise just pick from the usual suspects, it has already worked. HKGOLFER.COM
HK GOLFER・NOV 2014
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