Audi isn’t shying away from their penchant for showing off boldly designed, even futuristic concept vehicles at the motor shows that litter the automotive calendar, but with the Q8 they are parading a car that in reality is tantalisingly close to a production reality.
Of course, here on show floor there are still some stylistic additions that will not be making it off the factory line but the fundamentals have been confirmed. The Q8, Audi’s upcoming flagship due to appear in 2018, will be have the same general dimensions, long bonnet, frameless doors, and a low coupe-like roofline.
“The Q8 concept is an Audi in peak form. It demonstrates the strengths of our brand in both technology and design while providing a glimpse at a future full-size, production SUV,” said Dietmar Voggenreiter, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG.
Up front, the Q8 seen here appears to be an evolution of Audi’s more recent sedan concepts such as the Prologue, wearing a larger-than-usual grille as well a more vertical elements than were prevalent in previous show floor specials.
It’s powered by a plug-in hybrid system that combines a 3.0-litre V6 TFSI petrol engine, which alone produces 245kW and 500Nm with an electric motor that generates 100kW and 330Nm. Together, a total output of 330kW and 700Nm is available on tap, enough to hurl the sleek coupe-SUV to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds.
Is it possible that Audi will be including that impressive powertrain package in the road going Q8 when it debuts next year? Yes, indeed so. However, it’s probability is middling and may only appear later in the Q8’s life. What’s more likely is the Q8 mimicking the Q7’s engine/transmission tiers, although the an fully electric e-tron version is anyone’s guess.
Inside, the Q8 Concept follows many of the same design elements established by existing Audis but omits the analogue switchgear along the centre stack for a massive screen that even extends, secondarily, to just ahead of the gear lever. There’s even a heads-up display that projects important information directly onto the windscreen, augmenting the driver’s view so that they appear in the environment instead of on ‘screen’.
We’ll have to see if this interior direction is how Audi sees their production car’s headed in the near future as these interaction models and the technology that enables them are within reach for large-scale manufacturing.
For more on Audi vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
