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2018 Audi Q8 Test Mule Spied Wearing Q7 Bodyshell

Expected to debut in late 2017, probably at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the 2018 Audi Q8 will one-up the Q7 full-size SUV with a coupe-like bodyshell, more luxury, and lots of hi-tech goodies.
2018 Audi Q8 test mule 13 photos
Photo: CarPix
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2012 was the first time Audi sort of confirmed the Q8, the German manufacturer promised that the upcoming model will be a more upmarket proposition than the Q7 full-size luxury SUV that won’t overstep the Bentley Bentayga and the not-yet-ready-for-production Lamborghini Urus SUV.

Ulrich Hackenberg, the former technical chief at Audi AG, declared that the Q8 ”will be something new, following designs established on the Prologue concept. It will be positioned as something more emotional and more sporty than the Q7 [...] the Q8 will be more coupe like." Need I say anything more? I’ll state the obvious: Audi is doing exactly what BMW did with the X5/X6.

Our spy photographers caught the 2018 Audi Q8 doing its thing in Spain and, as you can tell from the pictures to the right, this is but a chassis mule wearing the body shell of a Q7. The thing is, this mule boasts a wider track, indicated by the wider fenders. The wheelbase, on the other hand, appears to be unchanged. These said, bear in mind that the Q8 will look very outlandish.

The upcoming Q8 will have a totally different body shell, one garnished with a styling language of its own. Other than the Prologue concept-inspired cues, just think of the Audi Q8 as the high-riding sibling of the Audi A7. The front end will resemble a lot of that from the new Audi A8 full-size luxury sedan that is also testing in pre-production prototype form right now.

As a sister model to the Q7, the Q8 will ride on the Volkswagen Group's MLB 2 platform and share most of its mechanical package. The new flagship SUV with coupe-ish looks is set to go on sale sometime in 2018 with an extended range of petrol, diesel, and hybrid powertrains. Some of those engine options are the new V6 and V8 mills developed together with the peeps at Porsche.

And yes, the same goes for the new plug-in petrol-electric system that has been co-developed with Porsche. In Audi Q8 e-tron 3.0 TDI quattro guise, the Q8 is expected to pride itself on an electric range of 35 miles (56 km) or so.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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