New 2016 Infiniti Q50 Gets Trio of Turbocharged Engines, Coupe Coming Too
Like any after-school special will tell us, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Infiniti revealed Monday its refreshed Q50, complete with three turbocharged engines in varying levels of potency. The new VR-series engine, which will be replacing Nissan’s everlasting VQ-series engine first in the Q50, will be a twin-turbocharged 3-liter V-6 that produces 300 horsepower and 400 horsepower in two different tunes.
The base mill in the Q50 will be Mercedes’ turbo four, lifted from the Q30, which makes 208 horsepower. Oh yeah, and there’s a refresh for the QX60 too.
The headliner in the trio of turbocharged engines is the more-potent 400 horsepower turbo V-6 that’ll almost certainly be planted in Infiniti’s Q60 sports coupe, which will debut in Detroit as well.
The new VR-series engine will improve where the VQ left off — direct injection, improved cooling, aluminum-alloy block — and is Infiniti’s first use of the engine (the GT-R uses a VR-series variant.)
Infiniti will use the 400-horsepower variant in its aggressively named Q50 Red Sport 400 model, seen above, but stopped short of calling it a direct competitor to the AMG, M Division or S-series cars of the world because then it wouldn’t be able to claim the following:
Offering the highest standard horsepower in class (non-specialty version), the engine is the most advanced V6 ever offered by Infiniti.
OK.
The 400 horsepower and 300 horsepower versions of the Q50 will go on sale in the spring, and the base 2-liter turbo four Q50 will go on sale next winter. Infiniti said it would make available a hybrid powertrain, with 350 net horsepower, later in the year.
In addition to the new power plants, Infiniti says the Q50 will sport an upgraded suspension, Direct Adaptive Steering, 19-inch wheels and a new front fascia.
According to the automaker, the 2016 QX60 will automatically hit the brakes before you hit something or someone. And: “Additional details will be available closer to when the 2016 QX60 arrives in Infiniti showrooms in late winter.”
More by Aaron Cole
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I like what Nissan is doing here. They aren't violating any internal design traditions...the RB26DETT was an ICE tour-de-force and a legend in it's own right. As a former 4G63 tweaker, I'm here to tell you that turbochargers are not the devil... However, the irony is delicious. If anyone cares to remember, it was Infiniti that kept poking BMW, quite aggressively as I recall, about its supposed horsepower deficits back in the day. BMW ultimately responded, quite aggressively as I recall, with the N54 and in the process caught Nissan short. WAY short as it turns out, for way too long. Bottom line: I, for one, welcome our new turbocharged overlords.
Hideous (inside and out), wart-like Infinities, built in the U.S., complete with POS Mercedes 4 banger hamster mill engines = priceless.