AUDI SQ8 TDI IS FAST AND FURIOUS

PAINT it black and call it pure evil. The menacing new Audi SQ8 TDI has broken cover.

This gargantuan, sporty, top-of-the-range new addition to the Audi Q car family, the SQ8 TDI, comes with a biturbo V8 with 310kW of power and 900Nm of torque. The oil-burner allows the 4.0TDI tank to accelerate like a sports car, breaching the 100km/h mark from a standstill in just 4.8 seconds. Top speed is, of course, limited to 250km/h, but you could raise this with an optional driver’s pack, although that isn’t confirmed for South Africa just yet.

Sending power to the wheels is an eightspeed torque converter gearbox, through a bespoke quattro permanent all-wheel-drive system that’s set up for sporty driving, according to the manufacturer.

As is typical for an Audi S model, sports seats decorated with an S embossing and contrasting stitching will bolster the Audi

SQ8’s sporty presence and discern it from its, er, stablemates.

In short, Audi says the design of the Audi SQ8 TDI can be described as impressive, sporty and robust, and they’re quite right, in our opinion.

Its octagonal single-frame grille is structured by double louvres and surrounded by a large matt silver frame. The under-body protection also gleams in the same colour and makes the front and rear bumpers appear even more aggressive.

You will also get an S-specific exhaust system and the distinct quattro blisters above the wheel arches to demonstrate “power par excellence” to your neighbours in your gated community.

Itching for one already? Well, you have to wait just a bit, as the South African launch of the SQ8 TDI is set for the first quarter of 2020. Expect to pay around R2 million when it gets here.