The poor man’s Lamborghini Urus. The Q7 with a sloping roofline and less rear-passenger headroom. The new flagship of the Q lineup of sport utility vehicles. Whatever you choose to call the Q8, the Ingolstadt-based automaker is adamant in the teaser campaign that the newcomer “carries the gene of the Audi Ur-Quattro.”
Other than the fact that it has four rings, four wheels, and a steering wheel, the Ur-Quattro and Q8 don’t have too much in common. Research & development head Peter Mertens declared that the coupe-ified SUV would be presented “in Shanghai in June 2018,” so don’t expect a surprise reveal at the Auto China 2018 in Beijing.
Underpinned by the MLB Evo vehicle architecture, the Q8 is joined at the hip with the Audi Q7, Volkswagen Touareg, Bentley Bentayga, and Lamborghini Urus, as well as a number of sedans, wagons, and coupes ranging from the A4 to the A8. With this information in hand, we can also guess what’s hiding in the engine bay.
First things first, the RS Q8 trademark is an indicator that Audi will shoehorn the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in the range-topping model. The SQ8, meanwhile, will rely on the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 TDI we know and love from the SQ7. Lesser models, on the other hand, will get the 3.0 TFSI, 3.0 TDI, and even the 2.0 TFSI as a standalone unit (252 horsepower) and in e-tron configuration (367 horsepower).
The eight-speed tiptronic transmission will come standard, as will the virtual cockpit instrument cluster and quattro all-wheel-drive system. The quattro in the Q8 uses a torque-sensing (Torsen) center differential that splits the engine’s power 40/60 front to rear. In performance models such as the RS5, quattro is gifted with a crown-gear center differential that enables variable torque splitting. The Q8 3.0 TDI, meanwhile, will be offered with a more efficient system, dubbed quattro ultra.
Pricing for the Q8, as you would expect, will overshadow the Q7 by a handful of thousands of euros. Over in Germany, the cheapest Q7 starts at €61,200 for the 3.0 TDI with ultra technology. At the other end of the spectrum, the SQ7 retails at €93,400.
Underpinned by the MLB Evo vehicle architecture, the Q8 is joined at the hip with the Audi Q7, Volkswagen Touareg, Bentley Bentayga, and Lamborghini Urus, as well as a number of sedans, wagons, and coupes ranging from the A4 to the A8. With this information in hand, we can also guess what’s hiding in the engine bay.
First things first, the RS Q8 trademark is an indicator that Audi will shoehorn the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in the range-topping model. The SQ8, meanwhile, will rely on the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 TDI we know and love from the SQ7. Lesser models, on the other hand, will get the 3.0 TFSI, 3.0 TDI, and even the 2.0 TFSI as a standalone unit (252 horsepower) and in e-tron configuration (367 horsepower).
The eight-speed tiptronic transmission will come standard, as will the virtual cockpit instrument cluster and quattro all-wheel-drive system. The quattro in the Q8 uses a torque-sensing (Torsen) center differential that splits the engine’s power 40/60 front to rear. In performance models such as the RS5, quattro is gifted with a crown-gear center differential that enables variable torque splitting. The Q8 3.0 TDI, meanwhile, will be offered with a more efficient system, dubbed quattro ultra.
Pricing for the Q8, as you would expect, will overshadow the Q7 by a handful of thousands of euros. Over in Germany, the cheapest Q7 starts at €61,200 for the 3.0 TDI with ultra technology. At the other end of the spectrum, the SQ7 retails at €93,400.