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2016 Audi Q7 Will Debut at Upcoming Detroit Auto Show

After being delayed by an urgent redesign, the all-new Audi Q7 is finally ready to make its production debut. Semi-official confirmation came today from Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the Board of Management of Audi AG, who hinted their new flagship SUV will debut next January, during the North American International Auto Show, otherwise known as the Detroit Auto Show.
2016 Audi Q7 rendering 1 photo
Photo: original image by autoevolution
When asked by IndianAutosBlog at the Paris Motor Show about the whereabouts of the next Q7, Hackenberg said the following “if you make a trip to Detroit, you’ll see it." The Audi official is quite obviously hinting at the 2015 NAIAS, which starts on January 12, 2015.

However, most Audis usually debut between auto shows in order to get the maximum media coverage, like the A6 and A7 facelifts, which were revealed this summer and landed in Paris last week. Hackenberg probably knows but won't reveal the fact that the Q7 will be shown in December, most likely just before Christmas.

The new platform

It's long been rumored that the new Audi Q7 will be built on the MLV Evo, which is just a fancy way of saying "next-gen platform". More aluminum and better engineered components will mean that up to 800 lbs (363 kg) will be shed over the current generation. The Q7 needs to do this because unlike the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg, it actually skipped a generation and stayed in production as-is since 2005.

An engine revolution

Both "tri-turbo" TDI and e-tron variants of the Q7 will exist. They have been rumored and semi-confirmed on a number of occasions the past year. However, only normal engines will be available at launch. Expect to see most of the 2015 Audi A6 and A7's mills to carry over, including the three 3.0 TDI clean diesels (218 PS, 272 PS and 320 PS twin-turbo). A performance version of the Q7 has been confirmed and could pack the 4-liter TFSI V8 that's been co-developed with Bentley. Transmission choices will include a 7-speed twin-clutch and 8-speed ZF automatic, depending on the model and market.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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