Audi plug-ins scooped

Spies catch new hybrid Q5 and A7 charging up on test

TWO new electrified Audis have been caught red handed at the charging point: the upcoming Q5 and A7 Sportback e-tron models.

The cars will help kick-start a new electrified era for the brand, and look ready to be revealed. With Audi set to show its all-electric e-tron SUV at a special event in San Francisco on 17 September, and pulling out of the Paris Motor Show next month, it’s likely that these two new plug-ins will be revealed as supporting acts for the company’s forthcoming Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-pace rival.

The Q5 and A7 e-tron are expected to borrow the powertrain found in the soon-to-be-launched plug-in A8 limo. This is a turbocharged 3.0-litre petrol V6 with an electric motor, developing a combined 443bhp and 700Nm of torque, while enabling an allelectric range of 30 miles.

However, Audi is also rumoured to be working on a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain, which could also make its debut in these two vehicles.

Every new Audi will eventually be offered with an electrified powertrain, but the top of the range is the priority.

Audi will also begin to use plug-in hybrid technology in its performance vehicles, beginning with the RS 7. Two variants are expected to be launched, with a regular car to feature alongside a more potent Performance-badged model.

The cheaper, lower-powered RS 7 is likely to use the same twin-turbocharged 4.0 V8 that features in the Lamborghini Urus, while the RS 7 Performance will borrow the electrified version of this powertrain, currently found in the Porsche Panamera Turbo S-E Hybrid.

Upwards of 600bhp is expected from the new model; such figures would make it one of the most powerful cars in Audi’s history.

● Spies catch electrified SUV and Sportback charging up “Q5 and A7 e-tron are expected to borrow the powertrain from soon-tobe-launched plug-in A8”