Beleaguered marque Audi reveals new Q8 flagship SUV

AUDI’S new Q8 flagship SUV has already been shown in sketch form, in near total darkness, and on the street and Nurburgring wearing black and white camouflage. But now Audi has finally unveiled it in full with images taken at an official reveal that took place in Shenzen, China.

It wouldn’t have been a surprise if this top SUV in the Audi lineup had turned out to be a bigger, more spacious and more luxurious version of the Q7 to rival the likes of the Range Rover and Cadillac Escalade, but the Q8 that was seen is a much more rakish and sleeker model than that.

This is a considerably sharper and sportier design than the Q7 and that puts it up against rivals such as the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe´ instead.

Global demand for SUVs of all types is huge at the moment, and is still snowballing. It’s no surprise then that manufacturers are continually looking to expand their SUV ranges, and coupe-like SUVs are one of the newest and fastestgrowing areas of the SUV landscape at the moment.

Along with its distinctive and strikingly coupe-like roofline and frameless doors, other styling cues that deserve a mention are the Q8’s new- style upright grille design with its six vertical chrome fins, bulging wheel arches reminiscent of the famous Quattro that also appear on the new Audi A6, A7 and A8, and the optional 22-inch wheels that are the largest ever to be offered from the factory by Audi.

It might come as something of a surprise that the new Q8 is actually shorter than the model below it in the Audi range, the Q7.

However, this isn’t a spacerobbing feature that will deny passengers legroom as the shorter length of the Q8 is entirely down to the smaller overhangs that help give it a sportier stance than the Q7. — Relaxnews