Hot or Not: 2018 Infiniti Q50 S Sedan vs Q60 S Red Sport Coupe Battle [Video]

What do you do when you get the sedan and coupe version of the same car in the hands of your professional racing driver? Compare them, obviously. Fortunately, we have had an opportunity to do just that with the 2018 Infiniti Q50 S Red Sport sedan and the 2018 Infiniti Q60 S Red Sport coupe. On paper, these two cars look identical, save for two fewer doors on the coupe. However, there are many factors that come in to play on the track. Tires and weight can make an especially huge difference when it comes to lap times. So, we gave them both to our racing driver Paul to see which one came out on top.

Infiniti Q50 S Red Sport Sedan

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This car did anything but win Paul’s heart. Its new drive-by-wire steering system felt imprecise and sloppy on the track. Paul came away from the 1:07.67 lap time extremely disappointed. The car was always a step behind the driver, which is never a good thing. On an encouraging note, the twin-turbo V6, which makes 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, was able to scoot the sedan to 60 in 5.52 seconds at a mile above sea-level. Power is being sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed automatic transmission. Unfortunately for the sedan, the “driver engagement” factor leaves a lot to be desired.

Infiniti Q60 S Red Sport Coupe

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Infiniti equipped the Q60 S Red Sport coupe with the same engine as the sedan. However, the coupe we tested came with AWD. Thus, you would expect to see some additional weight. Interestingly, the weights of these two cars are nearly identical. 3,993 lbs for the sedan and 4,024 lbs for the coupe with AWD. Despite the slight increase in weight, the coupe’s AWD traction helps it lay down a significantly faster 0-60 time of 5.17 seconds.

Around the track, the coupe put on a better show as well. Paul noted a lack of understeer, which is rare on this track, plus the ability to hold steering input, despite the fly-by-wire system. All of this made for a very respectable 1:05.17 lap, which is significantly faster than the sedan. Unfortunately, this model came to us with all-season tires, limiting grip at the edge of performance. However, Paul reckons that this car would see a time in the 1:03 minute range if it had summer performance tires.

Be sure to watch the whole video to hear all of Paul’s commentary on these two cars! Subscribe to The Fast Lane Car and TFLnow on YouTube to watch all the latest Hot or Not videos, as well as news, views, and real-world reviews!