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Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 priced at $48,855, AWD at $50,855

Infiniti's most powerful production model, the new Q50 Red Sport 400, now has a starting price. You'll need at least $48,855 for the rear-drive model or $50,855 for all-wheel drive. (Both figures include the $905 destination charge.) A fully loaded, rear-drive Q50 RS400 with Direct Adaptive Steering, navigation, adaptive cruise control, a heated steering wheel, and Infiniti's entire alphabet soup of safety equipment, tops out at $57,045. (Again, add $2,000 for AWD). When it comes to rear-drive competition, the closest base price to the Q50 is the 320-hp BMW 340i. This German undercuts the Infiniti by two grand, $46,795 to $48,855. But the BMW outprices the Q50 as soon as you start selecting options. A 340i with similar equipment to a loaded Q50 Red Sport 400 costs just under $60,000. All-wheel-drive German competitors also lose out in the price war. Like with the rear-drive models, the BMW 340i xDrive undercuts the Q50 RS400 by around $2,000. Add the options, and the Infiniti becomes a better value. The other two big German rivals, the Audi S4 and Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG start at a higher price and only get more expensive. Technically the S4 starts cheaper than the Q50, but only with the standard manual transmission. Selecting the S-Tronic dual-clutch model kicks the price from $50,125 to $51,125, and going for the top-end Prestige trim will bump potential Audi owners up to $57,025. Throw on must-have S4 options, including adaptive cruise control, adaptive dampers, and a sport differential and you'll be shell out $64,425 for the Audi. The Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG is the priciest choice in this group, starting at $51,725, or roughly $900 more than a base Q50 RS400 with AWD. Options, again, are the downfall here. Building a C450 to match a loaded Infiniti will drive the Mercedes' price up to $64,315. While it occupies something of a weird space relative to these vehicles, it's also worth mentioning the Cadillac CTS VSport. It's the only car in this impromptu pricing comparo that can outgun the Q50, with its 3.6-liter, twin-turbo V6 good for 420 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. It also starts at $60,950, although that includes plenty of standard equipment. All this means that the Q50 Red Sport 400 represents a relative value. It packs more power than the Germans – 80 more than the 340i, 67 more than the S4, and 38 more than the C450 – and a more comprehensive list of options, too.

Cadillac is doing a 'second installment' of the CT6-V for $92,790

After being all but certain the Cadillac CT6 would begin pushing American daisies June 1, the brand said "the CT6 was never meant to be fully on the chopping block." The same day we got that news, Cadillac began taking pre-orders for the CT6-V. Limited to 275 units and costing $88,790 after destination, orders came in so quickly that order books closed only hours later. Turns out the phrase "275 pre-order slots" was another slight miscommunication. Cadillac has announced continued production of the CT6-V, this time costing $92,790. In February, Cadillac Society confirmed with the automaker that the 275 figure only applied to pre-orders. It isn't clear how many CT6-Vs will be built in what the brand calls the "second installment," but it is clear that buyers who didn't get in early will pay more. Cars Direct was privy to a letter sent to dealers that said pre-order buyers "were rewarded with a special introductory offer by quickly raising their hand." Those slow on the draw have hopefully used the extra time to fish another $4,000 from their pockets. The elevated price buys the same car that was $88,790 two months ago - nothing has changed but the bottom line. The new MSRP puts more distance between the hot CT6-V and the $89,290 CTS-V. Conversely, the CT6-V with a Blackwing V8 beating 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque is now just $4,000 less than the coming Platinum V8 trim, which costs $96,790. That Platinum version gets a detuned Blacking putting out 500 hp and 553 lb-ft. The vague phrase "second installment" phrase makes us think Cadillac's not committing to a number so it can cap production at will depending on how this more expensive go-round fares. Still, it's good news for anyone who wanted the sedan new and didn't hit the buzzer quickly enough in January. As if all that weren't surprising enough, GM Authority reported that there's a second-gen CT6 in development. The outlet's sources say the new sedan will move to GM's VSS-R platform, the modular architecture that will replace both the Alpha and Omega platforms. The platform initialism stands for Vehicle Set Strategy - Rear-wheel drive. The car even has a codename: 7ESL, where 7 represents the architecture, E the segment, S the sedan body style, and L the Cadillac brand. Looks like the CT6 will be nothing but surprises this year.

Ringbrothers drops more hints about its wild SEMA creations

Ringbrothers isn't finished teasing its SEMA creations. First we got a sliver of rear quarter on a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro that revealed a bundle of carbon fiber and SEMA-obligatory deep-dish wheels. The Wisconsin tuner's now announced its litter of cars headed to the show and a few specs, along with two shadowy drawings. The Camaro, christened with the name Valkyrja and a two-tone paint job, gets stretched in two directions with severe fender flares to widen the body and an extended wheelbase. We're not sure what's happening with the Camaro's snout in the drawing, but under that bulging hood we'll find a 416-cubic-inch LS V8 from Wegner Motorsports. Wegner built the 416-cu-in supercharged LS3 V8 that powered Ringbrothers' 1,000-hp G-Code Camaro in 2016.  The second member of the gang is a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 dubbed Unkl. The exterior begs for attention with a deep blue sea paint job, deep front chin spoiler, bulging hood, yellow brake calipers, and what looks like a racing number inside a roundel on the doors. Unkl gets its motivation from a 520-cu-in Boss V8 built by Kaase Racing Engines, rumored to throw about 800 hp.    Finally, Ringbrothers is bringing its Cadillac Madam V for another Las Vegas go-round after giving the custom coupe some updates. The Madam V is a 1948 Cadillac Series 62 fastback coupe body placed atop an ATS-V chassis, first shown in 2016. The firm didn't elaborate on the changes, so all we can expect for now are the coupe's postwar good looks mixed with new-millennium engineering, and a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 with 464 hp under that exceptionally long hood.    For any in attendance at the show, the Valkyrja Camaro debuts at the BASF booth on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019 at 9:30 a.m., the Unkl Mustang gets revealed a couple hours later at the Flowmaster/Holley booth, and the Madam V Cadillac will be on display throughout the show at the Ringbrothers booth.