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2019 Audi Q8 Teased Again, Grille Looks Like It Eats Small Cars For Breakfast

Sitting alongside the A8 full-size sedan in the four-ringed automaker’s model lineup, the Q8 will soon be out of the bag. June 5th is the day Audi will pull the veils off the coupe-ified sport utility vehicle at a media event in Shanghai, China.
2019 Audi Q8 1 photo
Photo: Audi
The location of the world premiere is no coincidence, for Audi celebrates 30 years of presence in China in 2018. Moving on the the front-end design of the Q8, it’s easy to spot how A8 influences combine with styling details from the Q7. But as opposed to those two, the Q8 features vertical slats akin to the concept vehicle presented at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit back in 2017.

As for the rear end of the mid-size luxury SUV with a sloping roofline, the Lamborghini Urus would be proud of the full-width taillight design. In regard to the cockpit, the suite of displays and touchscreens comes courtesy of the A8 and all-new Volkswagen Touareg, as well as other platform siblings such as the Cayenne.

There’s no word on what drivetrain Audi will present at the China Brand Summit Shenzhen in a matter of days, though our guess is that the range will stop at the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 of the RS Q8. Lower down the spectrum, the 2.0 TFSI and e-tron models will reign supreme in markets such as the People’s Republic of China.

As for countries in the European Union, the 3.0 TDI will soldier on, joined by the 4.0-liter turbo diesel of the SQ8 TDI. As far as driving dynamics are concerned, journalists who have ridden shotgun in near-production test vehicles claim the Q8 is a cut above the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe. The 3.0 TDI V6-equipped prototype comes with a mild-hybrid system that helps the oil-burning engine churn out 286 PS (282 horsepower) and up to 600 Nm of torque on full song.

Wheel sizes will go as high as 22 inches, but what did you expect from those oversized wheel arches? Every drivetrain option will come standard with an eight-speed tiptronic automatic transmission, plus quattro all-wheel drive.

The quattro in the Q8 will be similar in design to the Q7, meaning that the rear axle is variably controlled by a self-locking center differential. If the driving scenario demands it, the computer can direct 85 percent of the torque to the rear axle or 70 percent to the front without the intervention of the Electronic Stability Program.
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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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