At first, Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge was a design study project for the Japanese car maker to see what a beefed-up, sporty Q50 would look like. They were quite chuffed with the results, and decided to give it an engine. Now they seem to be thinking about producing it, as the car is sent to the Millbrook testing facility with no other than Sebastian Vettel.

Granted, this is more of a publicity stunt ahead of the car’s debut at the 2014 Beijing Auto Show as a running prototype. But it is also a sign that Infiniti is serious about building the Eau Rouge, albeit in limited numbers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL10WZIjM5o

Sebastian Vettel is Infiniti’s Director of Performance, which means the car will be set up based on his feedback after a challenging series of performance, handling and precision driving evaluations. The Eau Rouge is powered by the same twin-turbo V6 engine you find in a Nissan GT-R, and features a carbon fiber body, uprated chassis and suspension, and high-performance brakes.

Infiniti is currently testing components, packaging and viability of the pre-production prototypes. If all goes to plan, we could see a production version of Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge in early 2015.