Audi Unveals New Q7 SUV

Audi has officially revealed its second-generation Q7 SUV that  will be showcased for the first time at the upcoming 2015 Detroit Motor Show. 

The new Q7 sports an evolutionary styling, the front gets a new bold single-frame grille which is similar to the recently updated Q3 SUV.

 It comes with heavily defined wheel arches, tauter surfacing and a more prominent shoulder and other crease lines within the flanks in order to make it look less bulky. It also gets various aerodynamic enhancements including the extensive usage of underbody cladding on some models, and elements within the grille that automatically close to reduce wind turbulence when the engine bay doesn’t require cooling. It gets 18-inch wheels as standard. 

Overall, the new Q7 is 325kg lighter than its predecessor with its 328bhp supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol version tipping the scales at 1,970kg. It has been subjected to a detailed weight reduction exercise that has seen as much as 100kg being reduced from its suspension, an additional 71kg from its body, and around 24kg via the adaption of aluminium doors alone. It also features a new architecture for its electricals and refinements to the floorplan that now uses a greater amount of hot-formed high-strength steel and aluminum. 

The new Q7 measures 5,050mm in length, 1,970mm in width and 1,740mm in height, which makes it 370mm shorter and 15mm narrower than its predecessor when underpinned by its standard steel-sprung suspension setup. The wheelbase has also been reduced by 10mm to 2,990mm. Despite the reduction in external dimensions, the Q7’s interior offers more space than the earlier car. It is still a seven seater, but interior has been significantly altered. 

The new Q7’s interior has 21mm more between the front and second rows of seats, together with 41mm and 23mm more headroom respectively. The third row offers 24mm more headroom and 20 mm more shoulder room than before. It sports contemporary dashboard styling with minimal switchgear, free-standing infotainment monitor, a digital instrument cluster, similar to the one seen in the latest TT, and a prominent centre console with newly designed MMI controller and gear selector. The new Q7 is expected to make its India debut sometime in the latter part of 2015.

The new Q7 will be sold globally with the following engines.

• A 3.0-litre EU6 compliant V6 diesel engine good for 268bhp.

• A 3.0-litre (Ultra) V6 diesel engine good for 215bhp. 

• A 3.0-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine good for 328bhp.

• A 2.0-litre turbo petrol motor good for 249bhp. 

It is based on the Volkswagen Group’s MLB platform, which consists of a combination of hot-formed, high-strength steel and aluminum as part of its weight reduction programme. 

The same underpinnings will be used for the following Volkswagen Group SUVs in future.

• New Volkswagen Touareg.

• New Porsche Cayenne.

• Bentley Falcon .

• Lamborghini Urus.