[Auto/Moto]Infiniti Q50 Sedan Is Dead; Infiniti Is Now an All-SUV Brand

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• The Infiniti Q50 sedan will be retired after the 2024 model year.
• The Q50 was launched for 2014 and eventually gained a 400-hp twin-turbo Red Sport 400 model.
• With the Q50 departing, Infiniti will exclusively sell SUVs.

It's time to bid farewell to yet another sedan. Yesterday Infiniti announced a host of changes to its lineup for 2025, and notably the Q50 sedan was absent from the list of models. Infiniti has confirmed to Car and Driver that the Q50 sedan will not return for the 2025 model year. With 2024 serving as the Q50's final model year, Infiniti's lineup will soon consist entirely of SUVs.

The Q50 sedan first arrived for the 2014 model year and only lasted for one generation, with only minor styling tweaks over its decade-long run. By the end of the Q50's life, the four-door came exclusively with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 connected to a seven-speed automatic gearbox and offered with either rear-wheel or all-wheel-drive. While base versions produced 300 horsepower, the Q50 turned up the wick with the Red Sport 400 model, which as the name suggests produced 400 ponies and shaved half a second off the zero-to-60-mph time with a 4.5-second run.

The 3.0-liter unit's arrival in 2016 replaced the 328-hp 3.7-liter V-6 that was initially found under the Q50's hood. The Q50 also came with a hybrid powertrain from launch that utilized a 3.5-liter V-6 for a combined 359 hp, but this setup was ditched after 2018. A 208-hp turbocharged four-cylinder was offered as an entry-level variant from 2016 to 2019.

Infinti also teased an even more potent Q50 that could have rivaled the sports sedans from BMW's M division and Mercedes-AMG. Dubbed the Eau Rouge after an iconic corner at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, it was first unveiled as a concept at the 2014 Detroit auto show. The Q50 Eau Rouge wore aggressive carbon-fiber bodywork and borrowed a 560-hp twin-turbo V-6 from the Nissan GT-R. While the all-wheel-drive sports sedan was originally intended for production, the plans were discarded in 2015.

While the Q50's death means the brand no longer sells any sedans, that may change in the near future. The Vision Qe concept unveiled in 2023 was a slinky electric sedan and is thought to preview an upcoming Q70 production model that will share its underpinnings with a revived and electrified Nissan Maxima. The Infiniti EV sedan could arrive by 2026.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a61936697/infiniti-q50-sedan-dead/