Infiniti Adds Red Sport Performance Package

Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti unit is relaunching its performance sub-brand under a new name: Red Sport.

The new performance branding, which follows previous iterations known as Infiniti Performance Line and the short-lived Eau Rouge, typically will include a high-output engine, specially tuned brakes, a stiffer suspension and other upgrades. Red Sport models also will get unique badging, distinguished by a red S on a vehicle’s sides and rear end.

But Red Sport models aren’t intended to directly compete against BMW’s M or Mercedes-Benz’s AMG top performance models. “We’re not quite there yet,” Keith St. Clair, Infiniti's U.S. director of product strategy and management, tells Automotive News. He describes Red Sport as a “mid-performance” line that reflects a step in that direction.

The first model to offer the new performance package will be the Q50 Red Sport 400 sedan that bows this spring. It will be followed by a Red Sport version of the Q60 coupe this summer.

The Red Sport 400 Q50 features a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 that kicks out 400 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. This is a higher-output version of the 3.0-liter mill used in the regular sport-trim package (signified by a silver S) that makes 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque; the base Q50 is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine.

The Q50 Red Sport also gets a sport suspension, and uprated steering and brakes. Other goodies include special exhaust tips, 19-inch wheels and Dunlop summer performance run-flat tires.