A new Audi SUV quickly coming down the pipe. Tentatively called the Q8, it will be the posh new high rider that will take the fight to rivals such as the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE in a way that the Q7 and Q5 couldn’t have managed.
According to a report by Autocark UK, Audi’s Chairman of the Board of Management, this new model will be their “flagship SUV”, sitting at the top of their tiered offerings with the BMW 7-Series rivalling A8 saloon and the R8 supercar.
Stadler adds: "I could imagine an executive being driven to work every day in their A8 and then spending the weekend driving themselves in their Q8. The Q8 will have global appeal in all of the major markets - Europe, China, America, Russia and more - and so we are very excited about it."
Curiously, the Q8 is reported to only feature 5 seats while the Q7, it’s hierarchical underling, will be able to carry 7 occupants. In any case, that perhaps isn’t the focus of the upcoming Q8. Rather, luxury and/or performance might be.
The Q-series of Audi SUVs is set to expand quite a bit by 2020, and the Q8 is but a stepping stone on the way to that goal. The new Q2 is also one of the models that global SUV offensive. Within the next four years, Audi is said to launch the a new Q1, a Q4, and a Q6 – not to mention successors to the current-day Q3 and Q5.
The Q8, as the report goes, is due for an official reveal in 2018, at which point it will be offered with the latest in Audi’s conventional petrol and diesel powertrains in addition to hybrids and, possibly, fully electric variants that could be the result of an intra-group collaboration with Porsche who are also trying to realise their own hybrid and electrified ambitions.
According to Audi design chief Marc Lichte, the Q8 will be a departure from the Q7’s exterior look despite them both sharing quite a lot mechanically and in footprint on the road. The Q8 will feature an 8-corner single-frame grille – a new corporate face that will find their way across the Audi line-up. However, it is uncertain that if the Q8 will be the first to wear it.
With its more rakish shape and large sports SUV presence, naturally Audi would be considering a faster SQ8, probably with the SQ7’s tri-turbo 4.0-litre V8 diesel mill under the bonnet.
Inside, the Q8 will likely see the first in the Q family to receive Audi’s latest on-board technology. Audi is said to be planning over-the-air updates to be pushed to its cars with a new MMI system, Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, and autonomous features, especially relating to the integration of HERE Maps for navigation functions – a mapping suite that in 2015 was purchased as a joint-venture with BMW and Daimler.
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