Although the SQ7-bit is more of a speculation, the fact that a pre-production prototype in the following spy video looks and seems to go a bit differently than all the other 2016 Audi Q7 prototypes should surely count for something.
As you can see, the camouflaged model is sporting quad exhaust tips and the test driver is hooning it more aggressively on the Green Hell, despite the fact at one point it has to give way to a much faster Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG W205.
According to Autocar, Audi’s board member for technical development, Ulrich Hackenberg, “The new Q7 will be available in the market next year but the electric turbo will come a bit later in the Audi SQ7 available in 2016.”
In other words, the first ever SQ7 will have an innovative diesel powertrain derived from the recently-unveiled Audi RS5 TDI Concept diesel V6, which sported two turbochargers and an electrically-driven supercharger.
On the RS5 TDI, with the help of a sequential turbocharger system and the e-boost electric supercharger, the three-liter V6 is good for 385 hp and 750 Nm (553 lb ft) of torque, but those numbers may be a bit different (read: bigger) on the upcoming Audi SQ7, still about two years away from production.
By Alex Oagana