Photo: Wilco Blok
Audi is the last of the three German rivals in the premium segment to offer a coupe-shaped version of its SUVs after Mercedes-Benz launched the GLE Coupe and GLC Coupe a little over three years ago to keep the BMW X6 and X4 (and now X2) some company.
This seemingly extremely tight niche carved open by the Bavarians at BMW proved to be very successful, so the rest of the bunch had to scramble quickly and come up with their own models. Mercedes was first, but its comparable effort looked more like a makeshift solution: the GLE Coupe has the air of a mutant about it.
Audi played the waiting game, and it looks as though it's going to pay off. There is still a lot we don't know about the Q8, Ingolstadt's new flagship SUV model, but based on what has transpired so far, it sounds like we're looking at a winner.
That's because the sleeker SUV is based on the very competent Audi Q7 model. It could be argued that the one thing that kept the Q7 from being a great vehicle was its exterior design, and that's where the Q8 should score extra points. After all, that's what a sloping roof and a much more stylish rear end, as well as a bigger radiator grille do to a car's design.
The 2019 Audi Q8 will lose some of its sibling's practicality, but unless you make a habit out of moving house every week and are too cheap to rent a truck, you'll probably never feel the trunk is smaller. We can't say the same thing about the taller persons sitting in the back, though - depending on the height and hairdo, some might be scraping the headliner.
Based on the number of spy photographs of the 2019 Audi Q8 we've had, it's pretty clear the German manufacturer has been showing its testing phase a lot of attention. And why wouldn't it considering this is going to be the SUV equivalent of the A8 limousine?
Thanks to all those spottings we know it is going to have the same taillight design as the new A7 (in that a light strip will run the entire width of the vehicle). We've also seen most of its dashboard and can safely say it'll use two central displays (one for infotainment and another for the more mundane HVAC functions) as well as the Audi Virtual Cockpit, which is fancy talk for a digital instrument cluster.
The powertrains are expected to carry over from the Q7, with a few additions. We'll likely get a 3.0-liter V6s burning both gasoline and diesel, as well as a 4.0-liter V8 TDI unit on the SQ8 model. A hybrid system is also going to make its way on the production version of the Q8, but the one we'll all be waiting for is the RS version, which is supposed to receive a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 mill with at least 600 hp.
That's because the Q8 doesn't share its platform with just the Q7, but also Lambo's upcoming Urus. We can't say if that's a compliment to the Audi or a millstone around the neck of the Lamborghini, but if the Bentley Bentayga can pull it off with being a redesigned Porsche Cayenne, why couldn't the Lamborghini Urus do the same?
Audi played the waiting game, and it looks as though it's going to pay off. There is still a lot we don't know about the Q8, Ingolstadt's new flagship SUV model, but based on what has transpired so far, it sounds like we're looking at a winner.
That's because the sleeker SUV is based on the very competent Audi Q7 model. It could be argued that the one thing that kept the Q7 from being a great vehicle was its exterior design, and that's where the Q8 should score extra points. After all, that's what a sloping roof and a much more stylish rear end, as well as a bigger radiator grille do to a car's design.
The 2019 Audi Q8 will lose some of its sibling's practicality, but unless you make a habit out of moving house every week and are too cheap to rent a truck, you'll probably never feel the trunk is smaller. We can't say the same thing about the taller persons sitting in the back, though - depending on the height and hairdo, some might be scraping the headliner.
Based on the number of spy photographs of the 2019 Audi Q8 we've had, it's pretty clear the German manufacturer has been showing its testing phase a lot of attention. And why wouldn't it considering this is going to be the SUV equivalent of the A8 limousine?
Thanks to all those spottings we know it is going to have the same taillight design as the new A7 (in that a light strip will run the entire width of the vehicle). We've also seen most of its dashboard and can safely say it'll use two central displays (one for infotainment and another for the more mundane HVAC functions) as well as the Audi Virtual Cockpit, which is fancy talk for a digital instrument cluster.
The powertrains are expected to carry over from the Q7, with a few additions. We'll likely get a 3.0-liter V6s burning both gasoline and diesel, as well as a 4.0-liter V8 TDI unit on the SQ8 model. A hybrid system is also going to make its way on the production version of the Q8, but the one we'll all be waiting for is the RS version, which is supposed to receive a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 mill with at least 600 hp.
That's because the Q8 doesn't share its platform with just the Q7, but also Lambo's upcoming Urus. We can't say if that's a compliment to the Audi or a millstone around the neck of the Lamborghini, but if the Bentley Bentayga can pull it off with being a redesigned Porsche Cayenne, why couldn't the Lamborghini Urus do the same?
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