Audi has revealed a version of their Q8 concept with more power, more sportiness, and more eye-searing orange. The Audi Q8 sport concept could be a look at an SQ8 version of the Q8 coupe-SUV.
We first saw the Q8 concept in Detroit in January, but back then it was blue. Plus it only had 444 hp between the gas engine and the hybrid system. That would get it to 100 km/h in a leisurely 5.4 seconds.
The Q8 sport takes Audi's 3.0L TFSI six-cylinder and adds an electric compressor to the twin-turbos. It's the 48 volt electric supercharger that the SQ7 got last year. It also gains a mild hybrid system integrated with the transmission. The gas engine now makes 450 hp all by itself, with the hybrid motor boosting that to 470 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. The SUV can now hit 100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds. Much better!
The fuel efficiency gained thanks to the electric blower and mild-hybrid system gives the Q8 sport concept a claimed 1,200 km range on a single tank. That's 7.6 L/100 km. The electric motor is packaged with the eight-speed automatic and makes enough power to handle start-stop traffic and parking maneuvers under electric power only.
Audi says that the new system isn't just show car smoke and mirrors, either. Audi chair Rupert Stadler calls it "a major step towards optimizing efficiency and sustainability in large-volume series production," adding that "this combination will be used in many Audi models."
The concept has appropriately massive 23-inch alloys wearing 305 series tires. Under those are 20-inch ceramic brake discs to make sure you can stop all of that power.
Between the widened arches - by 13mm versus the Detroit-debuted Q8 - and under the sloping roofline, Audi says that there is still lots of space for passengers front and rear. The brushed aluminium trim of the regular Q8 concept has been exchanged with gloss black pieces. The grill gets a honeycomb insert instead of the large chrome bars, and the exhausts are now oval shaped and more pronounced.
Audi still isn't saying when a production version could come, but they have hinted very strongly that it will. Eventually.
