Audi reveals Q8 SUV concept 10 | 01 | 2017
AUDI HAS UNVEILED its new Q8 concept at the Detroit Motor Show, and given an insight into what its future flagship SUV will look like. With the production version due to arrive in Scottish showrooms next year — starting around £60,000, £12,000 more than the existing Q7 — the Q8 concept combines the large footprint of an SUV with the sleek lines of a coupé.
Powered by an e-tron-badged plug-in hybrid powertrain, comprising a 3.0TFSI petrol engine, which produces 329bhp and 369lb/ft, plus an electric motor, Audi claims an all-electric range of 37 miles. It takes two-and-a-half hours to fully charge via a 7.2kW charger, and with a full tank of fuel, it has a claimed maximum range of 621 miles.
The electric motor adds 134bhp and 243lb/ft, bringing the combined system outputs to 443bhp and 516lb/ft, which will catapult the Q8 from standstill to 62mph in 5.4secs and on to a limited top speed of 155mph.
The concept is fitted with an eight-speed tiptronic automatic transmission, with permanent quattro four-wheel drive, and features a torque control system to improve agility by braking an inside wheel when cornering at speed.
While the concept sits on five-link adaptive air suspension front and rear, the driver can use the adjustable damping control to switch from Comfort through to a firmer Sport mode. The different settings raising or lowering the car by as much as 90mm.
Boasting a larger footprint than a Range Rover, the Q8 is 5020mm long and 2040mm wide, it’s 210mm lower at 1700mm. The Audi also boasts a longer wheelbase, at 3000mm it’s 78mm longer than a Range Rover and rides on 23in twotone alloys.
Dominating the Q8’s front profile is an octagonal grille, which is bigger than any fitted to a current production Audi. And while the Q8’s headlights follow the lines of the grille and bonnet and feature digital Matrix laser technology — which can project one million pixels onto the road ahead — there are also LED daytime running lights, which double as dynamic indicators, mounted within the headlight cluster.
The rear tail-lights extend across the full width of the car and use LED technology to allow the single strip of lights to act as brake lights and dynamic indicators.
Touch sensors detect the presence of a hand or fingers and then open the frameless doors automatically to a defined angle. Inside the luxurious can, there are four individual seats wrapped in fine nappa and nubuck leather.
As you would expect, the Q8 gets Audi’s Virtual Cockpit technology and the digital displays are headed by a 12.3in TFT screen that features a new design for its menus and works with augmented reality to project virtual graphics over the windscreen.
As for storage, the Q8 — which is scheduled to be built at Volkswagen’s Bratislava plant in Slovakia alongside the current Audi Q7 and future versions of the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg — boasts a 630-litre boot, a whopping 80 litres bigger a Range Rover’s.
Quite how much of the concept’s styling will make it to the production model arriving next year is unknown, but it’s expected the on-sale version won’t differ too much.
Related: Roadtest — Audi A5 Coupe 2.0TDI
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Jim McGill