Audi’s next big product, the Audi Q8 coupe-SUV was recently spotted testing again and this time without any camouflage. The Audi Q8 will be the next flagship SUV in the Ingolstadt-based carmaker’s stable and shares its underpinnings with the company current flagship – the Audi Q7. The Q8 coupe-SUV, which is slated to be introduced in 2018, possibly at the Geneva Motor Show, will compete with the likes of the BMW X6. The SUV is still undergoing heavy testing and the last time the Q8 was spied it was at the Nurburgring Circuit doing some power laps.
We first saw the Audi Q8 early this year, in its concept avatar – the Audi Q8 Sport Concept, at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. And judging by this latest spy image we can tell that a lot of the design and styling elements have been carried over to the production version of the concept. The rear portion especially looks very well-designed with the sleek LED taillights, sloping roofline, stylish roof spoiler, and a massive bumper diffuser with two integrated exhaust pipes.
As mentioned earlier, the Audi Q8 shares both its platform and technologies with the Q7 so we might see some parts sharing. The Audi Q8 will feature that butch SUV look with a larger hexagonal grille, new sharper headlamps, which will probably feature Audi’s signature Matrix LED lamps, aggressive bumper, sporty alloys and more. While we are still waiting for an official confirmation, the Audi Q8 is likely to be powered by a 3.0 TFSI six-cylinder engine that comes with a mild hybrid setup and an electric powered compressor. Audi says the motor is capable of churning out 469 bhp of power and a whopping 700 Nm of torque. The powertrain comes mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and it is said to have an electric-only range of about 60 km.
It looks like Audi is currently in the final stages of development and there is a possibility that we might get to know the technical specifications, features or some important detail about the Audi Q8 by the end of this year.
[source=auto.ndtv]