At the upcoming 2017 Detroit Motor Show, the first major event on the annual automotive calendar, Audi is set to debut their Q8 e-tron concept, a futuristic coupe-like electric luxury SUV.
This is evidenced in an interview by German newspaper Welt who spoke to Audi’s design boss Marc Lichte and also broke these teaser sketches. By all indication, it’s quite clear that the Ingolstadt-based automaker is serious about introducing production-ready Q8 to market soon.
Many of the previous concept vehicles Audi has brought to the various motor shows of the recent past haven’t really panned out to be being sold in showrooms, despite how incredible they look or how interested the public seemed at that prospect.
Audi has consistently unveiled a stream of ‘e-tron' electric vehicles at motor shows, and that is only expected to increase with parent company Volkswagen planning to - more or less - bet the farm on battery-powered EVs going into the next decade, hopefully making a big enough dent to give them the overall lead in terms of production volume.
On the Q8 e-tron concept we see pictured underneath a tarpaulin cover - which also clearly shows what looks to be a Prologue concept nearby - it clearly is a response to the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe and, although not directly, should compete with the Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-Pace S.
It looks like an evolution of the Audi quattro concept from 2015. But besides the aggressively styled exterior with its strong shoulders, long bonnet and large front air intakes, the Q8 concept is also said to be loaded to the brim with technology. Parading the ‘e-tron’ badge, drive comes from an array of batteries and electric motors spinning all four wheels, but this concept is also suspected to house the next generation version of Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, expanding the digital interface paradigm to the centre console and beyond.
Audi could also preview their newest autonomous driving technology here too, a more mature version that the self-driving Audi A7 ‘Jack’ system that was showcased early this year. This technology will likely feature in the production version, which should also see the a mirror of the Q7’s engine line-up, including the advanced 4.0-litre V8 diesel in the SQ7 TDI, perhaps as a hybrid and married to an assistive electric motor.
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