Photo: SB-Medien
A prototype for the next generation Audi Q7 was spied by our photographers at the Nurburgring, just as engineers were getting the car ready for the first track tests. They were even able to snap a photo of the SUV with its boot lid open, revealing a similar design to the current generation, but with a much lower load lip.
As we've come to expect from Audi, everything's about evolution with their new cars. The hood looks a little flatter and more defined, the mirrors are smaller and the side is less defined. Like the old Range Rovers, the current Q7 has meaty fender flares and LED accents that look like christmas decoration. But this prototype has none of that. The wheel arches have lost their aggressive flaring and are as flat as on a family saloon, the side mirrors are discrete and the prototype's front bumper is less busy.
We would have put all these changes down to this being a prototype, but "subtle" is clearly the direction the SUV industry is headed in, as we've seen with the new Range Rover Sport last year.
Expected to come out in early 2015, the new Q7 will be based on the MLB Evo platform and is expected to shed about 800 lbs (363 kg) from its current girth. This will allow them to use smaller engines and drop fuel consumption significantly. The current lineup of TFSIs and TDI will be augmented by the first plug-in hybrid version of the range, probably powered by the same engine as the A6 e-tron: a combination of 2.0 TFSI engine and an electric motor with an additional 95 hp.
Technology will also get a major boost. Base models will probably still have Xenon, but full-LED will be a relatively cheap option, costing about €2,000. Expect to see a similar look to the A8 facelift, with its jeweled array of small lenses and "Matrix" adaptive systems that dim specific beams so as not to blind other road users.
The current Audi Q7 remains an extremely popular SUV with customers in America and China, but the fact of the matter is that it's kind of old. VW Group's first generation of full-size offroading architecture still underpins it, like the Touareg Mk1 and Cayenne MkI. This means it's heavy and in the event of a crash, protection is mediocre at best. Way back in 2006, this vehicle received an unimpressive 4-star rating, despite not being subjected to small overlap or side impact pole tests.
We would have put all these changes down to this being a prototype, but "subtle" is clearly the direction the SUV industry is headed in, as we've seen with the new Range Rover Sport last year.
Expected to come out in early 2015, the new Q7 will be based on the MLB Evo platform and is expected to shed about 800 lbs (363 kg) from its current girth. This will allow them to use smaller engines and drop fuel consumption significantly. The current lineup of TFSIs and TDI will be augmented by the first plug-in hybrid version of the range, probably powered by the same engine as the A6 e-tron: a combination of 2.0 TFSI engine and an electric motor with an additional 95 hp.
Technology will also get a major boost. Base models will probably still have Xenon, but full-LED will be a relatively cheap option, costing about €2,000. Expect to see a similar look to the A8 facelift, with its jeweled array of small lenses and "Matrix" adaptive systems that dim specific beams so as not to blind other road users.
The current Audi Q7 remains an extremely popular SUV with customers in America and China, but the fact of the matter is that it's kind of old. VW Group's first generation of full-size offroading architecture still underpins it, like the Touareg Mk1 and Cayenne MkI. This means it's heavy and in the event of a crash, protection is mediocre at best. Way back in 2006, this vehicle received an unimpressive 4-star rating, despite not being subjected to small overlap or side impact pole tests.
Google News