Not a “wolf in sheep's clothing, but an SUV with coupe design.” That’s how Audi refers to the Q8, although the full-length taillight and sharp rear end have more in common with the Lamborghini Urus. And speaking of the Urus, the RS Q8 is expected to borrow the twin-turbo V8 from the Italian automaker’s SUV.
A sportier but less practical interpretation of the Q7, the 2019 Audi Q8 will lead the automaker’s lineup alongside the A8. Based on the platform it rides on, the newcomer will be offered with four-, six-, and eight-cylinder powerplants, including an e-tron plug-in hybrid option with the 17.9-kWh battery of the Q8 Concept. Speaking of the concept presented last year, the German automaker claims that the powertrain is capable of 60 kilometers (37 miles) in electric-only mode.
Along with the design sketch pictured above, Audi took to social media to announce that a five-part video series will premiere on May 21 and end on June 5. The trailer of the series doesn’t reveal anything of particular interest to prospective customers, nor does it offer any relevant detail on the automaker’s all-new SUV.
The MLB Evo-based model will go official next month at a special event in Shanghai. The reason Audi chose the People’s Republic for the world premiere is that the company celebrates 30 years of producing vehicles in China in 2018. The first Audi manufactured under license in the Middle Kingdom is the 100 mid-size sedan. The agreement to produce the car in China was signed on August 13, 1988.
While on the subject of globalization, Audi is the first premium automaker to make cars in China, a subject that’s more relevant today than it was a few decades ago. Volvo’s vice-president of design, for example, made the rounds by saying that China-made cars are better in terms of quality than those manufactured in Europe.
Ford, on the other hand, decided to pull out the Focus from Michigan and introduce the Focus Active to the U.S. market, a vehicle that will start production in China sometime next year. Buick and Cadillac, on the other hand, rely on Chinese labor and imports for a handful of years now.
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. Full profile
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