Auto Events

Infiniti is ready to make a splash at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) and it all starts with the Q50 Eau Rouge Concept. The Q50 Eau Rouge Concept was born out of Infiniti’s partnership with Formula One’s Red Bull Racing team. It’s the first development project between the two companies that has involved Red Bull Racing’s No. 1 team driver and new Infiniti Director of Performance, Sebastian Vettel throughout the entire inception. 

The Q50 Eau Rouge Concept is not surprisingly a premium sports sedan that’s race inspired. It will feature aerodynamic styling and design elements that come straight from a Red Bull Racing influence. 

The Q50 Eau Rouge is lower and wider with a muscular and sportier tone. What we can see are sporty carbon fibre side mirrors, a new splitter, rear diffuser and side sill skirts in their newly released full-body image. It will be displayed with 21-inch lightweight forged alloy wheels and a dual-exit exhaust sports system below its rear spoiler.

“From our shared passion for performance with Infiniti Red Bull Racing grew a collective desire to produce a vision of what a high-performance Infiniti Q50 could look like,” said Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti’s Executive Design Director.

“The design has a number of distinctive Formula One inspired touches.  In particular, the sculpted front wing assembly and the rear aerodynamic packaging take their cues from the RB9 race car,” added Albaisa.

Considering that the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge is a racing-inspired sedan, we would naturally expect a bump in horsepower (328) and torque (269 lb.-ft.), but no figures have been revealed.

The Q50 Eau Rouge Concept seems to be a perfect example of what can be accomplished by the working relationship of Infiniti and Red Bull Racing.

More information will be revealed on the second press day at NAIAS on January 14th. Infiniti’s presentation begins at 9:20 am ET, so stay tuned until then.

Acura and Honda are set to showcase two new vehicles during the press days at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).  

For Acura, they’ve announced that the TL and TSX as we know them – will no longer exist. In their place comes the all-new TLX. The TLX will be the middle-child to the entry-level ILX and their flagship, the RLX. This was done to create a clear hierarchy of vehicles for Acura without any confusion.

Acura will be unveiling the TLX Prototype at NAIAS, which begins on January 13th and it’s reporting that it will be a sportier option than the other current x’s. It will also have a choice of two all-new, high-performance and highly fuel-efficient direct-injected engines. These engines will be paired to an all-new advanced transmission, where you will have the choice to go with standard two-wheel drive or go for the optional all-wheel drive.

Acura is excited about their emotionally-styled exterior, describing the TLX as “the perfect blend of style and muscle with its elegant, well-proportioned exterior that cloaks the true sport sedan chassis and powertrain beneath.”

As Acura prepares for their big introduction of the TLX, Honda is gearing up to present the all-new 2015 Fit. 

This would be the third generation of the Fit and Honda will be utilizing its Earth Dreams Technology powertrain for enhanced fuel economy and performance. We are also told that that it will be equipped with Honda’s exclusive next-generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure for enhanced safety – something Honda prides themselves in.

Honda says the new Fit will "showcase significant advancements designed to further extend Fit's status as the benchmark vehicle in the subcompact-car class." This probably means that we are going to see some new cutting-edge styling in the exterior and new technologies that fill the interior.

The Honda Fit will be produced for the first time in North American at the all-new plant in Celaya, Mexico; while the Acura TLX, when given the go ahead for production will be built at the Marysville plant in Ohio, where the current TL is being built.

We will learn a lot more about the Acura TLX Prototype and the Honda Fit come January 13th, so stay tuned for more information as it gets revealed at NAIAS.