Drooling ensues.
While Audi’s new compact crossover, the Q2, wins over critics and buyers across the globe, it appears that the evolutionary German marque is prepared to pat themselves on the back and call it a day. It seems that Ingolstadt is working on a hotter, more engaging variant to better harness the emerging performance-crossover market, with an upcoming ‘S’ variant prepared to bring more punch to the funky Q2 lineup.
More power, more aggression, and greater driver involvement will be the order of the day, with the SQ2 expected to bring with it the same 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-pot we saw in the S3, putting out around 223kW. A quattro all-wheel drive system will be a given, as will a double-clutch automatic gearbox, a recipe that will likely be enough to get most drivers salivating.
Interestingly, the SQ2 is expected to hit the market at around about the same time as the Volkswagen T-Roc R, which will also offer similar power and similar packaging as the Audi. It’s suggested that while the Audi will take a more trendy, more style-focused offering, the T-Roc R will be the more playful, more giggle-inducing to drive, giving both cars a distinctive character that should appeal to different buyers.
Autocar suggests that it might not stop with the SQ2, with further room for an RSQ2 with even more power a possibility further down the line. An RSQ2 would, in theory, use the same five-cylinder 2.5-litre turbo from the RS3, putting out about 270kW, and making a wonderful warble as it does. However, the consensus in the CarShowroom office is that it seems like a step too far for what is largely a fashionable, trendy SUV, and a hyper-fast Q2 would tread dangerously close to the RSQ3. Sales cannibalism will ensue.
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