Audi’s X6-rivalling Q8 takes shape
Audi Q8
AUDI is planning to launch a luxurious five-seat SUV called Q8 as a sister car to its A8 limo, according to the firm’s CEO, and our exclusive image shows how it could look.
The premium brand has been developing a number of high-end additions to its range, including a fully electric crossover that’s due on sale in 2018. But Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has now confirmed that an additional ‘Q’ model is being planned for launch in the same period, to be positioned above the Q7 in its line-up and aimed at luxury buyers who would otherwise choose a Range Rover Sport or a BMW X6 over an A8.
Stadler said: “The way the market is going, we see the Q8 sitting alongside the A8 as our two luxury flagships.”
The Q8 will be based on the same platform as the Q7, but with a sportier bent. Although the wheelbase is the same as the Q7’s, the rear overhang is shorter (meaning it’ll only seat five) and the car sits 70mm lower. Recent spy shots of a Q7-based test mule (below, right) show how Audi has been experimenting with wider front and rear tracks that could give the Q8 a more sporty look.
The Q7 sits on the VW Group’s set of large-vehicle components, called MLB, and using the same architecture means that the Q8 will have a proven range of powerplants to draw on. The core of the line-up will be a 3.0-litre V6 diesel version, although there will also be an SQ8 – featuring the same 4.0-litre V8 diesel as the SQ7 – and a plug-in hybrid. There will be a sixcylinder petrol for the US and China, but Audi currently has no plans for a fully electric version; it’s saving that technology for its Q6 e-tron.
To further differentiate the styling within Audi’s range, future Q models will have octagonal grilles and A cars will feature hexagonal grilles. The Q8 gets the most dominant octagonal grille of the lot, marked out by bold vertical strakes. And as the range-topper, it will have a full-width rear light treatment similar to the A7’s, but it gets its own unique front light design split into two, with further lighting in a lower smokedfinish lens disguised as an air intake.
Although the Q8 could be seen to rival the X6 and Porsche Cayenne, Audi design boss Marc Lichte has resisted the temptation to follow the trend of its rivals and give it a coupé-like rear end. “We started the roof lower at the front,” Lichte told us, “and made it longer to make sure you get good headroom in the back. Then we’ve added a fast C-pillar to really show off the car’s progressive sportiness.” As such, the Q8 is just as likely to be a competitor for topend editions of the next-generation X5, as well as the Range Rover Sport and Bentley’s much-rumoured sub-bentayga SUV.
Inside, the Q8 will get an all-new dashboard treatment, which does away with the current MMI rotary controller and almost all conventional buttons in favour of a pair of touchscreens, both featuring haptic feedback and covering everything from infotainment to heating and air-conditioning.
Audi is rapidly overhauling the top end of its model line-up, so while the Q8 is barely two years away, it will actually be the last of the new-look range to appear – behind the new A8, A7 and A6 (Page 12), and just ahead of a facelifted Q7 that’s due in 2018. We’d expect prices of the Q8 to start at around the same level as a mid-range Q7’s, with an entry figure of around £55,000.
News Exclusive image shows new Q7-based luxury SUV Mixes sporty looks with higher-tech five-seat cabin
“Q8 will be based on the same platform as the Q7, but with a sportier bent”