Audi has revealed a 475hp sporting variant of its new Q8 SUV, called the Q8 Sport concept, at the Geneva motor show. The car is expected to be placed into production in 2018, acting as a range-topping model in the new Q8 line-up. It will likely be marketed under the SQ8 name.
The Q8 Sport concept is powered by a newly developed petrol-electric hybrid driveline that is claimed to give it a 0-100kph sprint time of 4.7sec along with a top speed of 275kph and overall range of 1,200km, in combination with an 85-litre fuel tank and 0.9kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
It is outwardly distinguished from the earlier Q8 Concept by a series of stylistic upgrades aimed at endowing it with a more sporting appearance than its milder powered sibling. Included is a restyled single-frame grille featuring a black frame and honeycomb lattice insert.
The new grille is set within a more heavily structured front bumper, housing enlarged air ducts and a more prominent splitter element in the form of a black blade along its lower edge. The headlamps have also been modified with darkened inserts but retain the same distinctive X-shaped LED graphics as the earlier concept.
Further back, there are black exterior mirror housings and black sills underneath the doors. Compared to the Q8 Concept revealed at the Detroit motor show in January, the wheel houses have also been widened by a further 12mm. The rear end of the new SUV is dominated by a full-width tail-lamp graphic, set within a black panel.
On the Q8 Sport Concept, the lower section of the bumper adopts a black diffuser rather than the silver element used by the original Q8 Concept. It also eschews the earlier trapezoidal-shaped tailpipes for oval-shaped exhausts, typical of Audi’s more performance orientated models.
Rounding out the visual upgrades are new 23-inch alloy wheels with intertwining spokes. The first official photographs of the new Audi also hint at a lowered ride height for the Q8 Sport concept in keeping with its sporting pretensions.
The petrol-electric hybrid driveline previewed by the Q8 Sport Concept is planned to feature in a number of new Audi models, including future incarnations of the A6, A7 and A8, as well as the Q7 and a production version of the Q8 due out in international markets later this year.
It is based around a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 direct-injection petrol engine which borrows engineering solutions used by the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 common rail diesel used by the SQ7.
Audi says the operating strategy of its new petrol-electric hybrid system allows the big SUV to move slowly in stop/start traffic with the combustion engine idled, as well as enabling manoeuvring and parking exclusively under electric power. During braking, a newly developed energy regeneration system employs the electric motor as a generator to recharge the battery.
Take a look at the other cars present at the Geneva motor show 2017 in our image gallery.