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Recharge Wrap-up: Q50 Hybrid video, Iran's biodiesel weed

A new video from Infiniti showcases the Q50 Hybrid's kinetic energy recovery technology, borrowed from Formula One. The video details what is going on inside both the Q50 Hybrid and the racecar when it gathers energy to store for later use, offering better performance than an internal combustion engine alone. In the Q50 Hybrid, that electric energy helps the car accelerate from 0-60 in 4.9 seconds. The video also serves to highlight the relationship between racing innovation and performance and efficiency improvements in production vehicles. See the video above. The 2015 Toyota Prius C has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The compact hybrid, updated for the 2015 model year, has been upgraded from a "poor" to "acceptable" rating in the small overlap crash test, placing it on the Top Safety Pick list. Beginning in the 2016 model year, cars will have to score a "good" rating on the test to make the list, which means further improvements will be necessary if Toyota wants the Prius C to maintain its safety status with the IIHS. Read more at Green Car Reports. A couple in Tennessee have been found guilty of scamming the state in a fake biodiesel scheme. John and Lisa Brichetto's Northington Energy LLC received a state loan to produce biodiesel in 2011, but the facility never started production and was later foreclosed upon. In addition to the $142,215 the Brichettos defrauded from Tennessee, the state also invested in utilities and roads, while the US Department of Agriculture also paid for site improvements. Read more from the Times Free Press. Researchers in Iran have developed a way to make biodiesel from a weed. Scientists at the Islamic Azad University have created two liters of biomass for biofuel from flixweed. Flixweed, also called herb-Sophia and tansy mustard, is a non-edible weed that grows in various climates with little to no effort. It was found to contain 22 percent oil and fatty acids, and the biomass contains oxygenated chemical components. "This issue is important because the atomic oxygen in the fuel of a car directly cuts exhaust and the dangerous carbon monoxide and cancerous particles suspended in air," says Mehdi Alami, a chemistry graduate working on the project. Read more at Press TV.

2014 Infiniti Q50 and Q60 Coupe and Convertible order guides leaked

The pricing and configurator for the 2014 Infiniti Q50 were revealed a couple months ago, and now InfinitiQ50.org has uncovered leaked order guides for Infiniti's all-new luxury sedan as well as the renamed Q60 Coupe and Convertible.
From the looks of things, if you'd like a rear-wheel drive Q50, you may have to have to special order it. All three Q50 RWD models say "Sold Order Only" on the model, mix and MSRP page. As for the Q60 models, the only differences for the 2014 model year - aside for the new name, of course - are related to exterior coloring. A new Venetian Ruby hue is being added to the palette.

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Concept bows again, now with more GT-R [w/video]

Think back to the 2014 Detroit Auto Show and you'll remember the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge concept - a sedan that showed the potential design direction for a seriously high-performance take on the Japanese automaker's new entry-level luxury sedan. And while the show car we saw in Detroit was all well and good, it lacked something. Specifically, an engine. Kind of an important thing for a performance concept, right?
Here in Geneva, Infiniti rolled out that same Q50 Eau Rouge, but with one major modification: the sedan now boasts a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 under its hood - the same engine that's found in the Nissan GT-R supercar. In the Eau Rouge, this V6 is tuned to produce 560 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, sent to the ground via the GT-R's all-wheel-drive system. Of course, this super-hot Q50 is still purely a concept, but Infiniti says that the potent engine underhood will allow the sedan to sprint to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds, on its way to a top speed of over 180 mph.
The oft-fabled "four-door GT-R" still isn't confirmed for production, so for now, all we can do is cross our fingers (and toes). Check out the Q50 and its new beating heart in the gallery, above, and scroll below to hear what that potent Eau Rouge sounds like.