Audi Q9 set for development as future Range Rover rival

Audi Q8
The Audi Q8 (pictured) launches in the UK this summer, costing from £65k
Ingolstadt will follow Q8 with a range-topping Q9 that will gun for the market's most premium SUVs

Audi’s growing SUV ranks are set to swell further with the addition of a new Q9 model in the future.

Audi launched the Q8 as its flagship SUV in Shenzhen, China, earlier this month (Autocar has since driven it) and chairman and CEO Rupert Stadler refused to rule out the possibility of an even larger and more luxurious model to sit above it if the expected customer demand is there.

“The customers will tell us what they want in the future,” Stadler told Autocar when asked if Audi was planning a Q9. “Time will tell.”

Asked the same question, Audi design boss Marc Lichte said: “We have so many ideas, so many ideas...”

The Q8 will be priced from around £65,000 when it’s launched in the UK this summer, but some versions are likely to top £100,000 when the range expands with higher-tech, sportier and more luxurious versions and buyers spec the cars up as expected.

Stadler confirmed a plug-in hybrid Q8 would join the line-up and said a high-performance RS version was likely. “I think the concept looks good,” he said when asked if Audi Sport will turn its attention to the Q8.

Audi believes there is space to expand on price and positioning and challenge the likes of the Range Rover, which operates largely unchallenged in the £80,000-£120,000 category below the likes of the Bentley Bentayga. It’s here that Audi thinks it can grow and challenge Land Rover.

The marque believes a Q9 could offer something different from Land Rover, being as much about technology as luxury and status.

If it makes production as expected, the Q9 would be a direct rival to the Range Rover as the Q8 is to the Range Rover Sport. While Audi ultimately plans to launch a Q9 to sit atop its SUV range, it currently has no plans to launch an entry-level SUV smaller than the Q2.

Any such a model would be difficult to make profitably. The Q2 is already one of the smaller SUV models on the market and, in the company’s eyes, the job of an entry-level Audi is well served by the A1, a second- generation version of which was recently revealed.

“I think we are well equipped with Q2 because this is already a premium product at the right price point,” said Stadler, when asked of plans for a Q1. “The A1 is our car for very young people. Possibilities below that get tighter.”

Read more 

Audi Q7 review 

Audi Q8 review 

Audi A7 review

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BTCC 2018: Neal wins Diamond Double at Snetterton

Image
Neal clinched victory in the extended Diamond Double race Jack Goff stars in qualifying and race one, while veteran Neal clinches glory in double-length finale Triple British Touring Car champion Matt Neal clinched victory in the special extended Diamond Double race at Snetterton, held to mark the 60th anniversary of the series in his Honda Civic Type R . Rising stars Jack Goff and Ashley Sutton also took race wins at the Norfolk track. Instead of the usual reverse-grid finale, the third race at Snetterton was extended from 12 laps to 20, with double championship points on offer and no success ballast. The race also featured its own separate qualifying session. Picture special: 60 years of the BTCC That was good news for Eurotech driver Goff, who went fastest in both qualifying sessions to claim two pole positions in his Civic Type R. He made the first one count, pulling out a big lead in treacherous wet conditions.  The young guns of the BTCC Behind Goff, reigning champion
Read more

Japan's micro sports cars – Honda and Daihatsu kei cars driven

Image
S660 and Copen are the only kei sports cars in production Kei cars are big in Japan, but do they deliver driving thrills? We sample a pair in Tokyo to find out When the American style of christening storms came to Britain a couple of years ago, it was inevitable that some wag in the Met Office would find a way to undermine the whole concept with an underwhelming name to snigger about.  Storm Brian was the result. It’s a fine English name but perhaps lacking the gravitas of many of those coined overseas. “In terms of impact, we’ve had spray overtopping quaysides,” someone from the Environment Agency told the BBC of Brian’s pummelling of Cornwall. Top marks for not trying, Brian.  While Brian was doing his thing on the other side of the world, Typhoon Lan – now there’s a name – was homing in on southern Japan, bringing with it 140mph winds and a storm that made photographer Stan Papior wish he’d invested in a waterproof camera and jacket.  Look really closely at some of his pictur
Read more