- New sporting version of Audi’s biggest SUVs
- 500-horsepower twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8
- 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds, 155 mph top speed
- Standard rear-axle steering, optional active anti-roll bars
- On sale Spring 2020, prices estimated at $70,000-$90,000
The 2020 Audi SQ7 and Audi SQ8 are two new sporting variants that bolster the lineups of brand’s two largest SUVs, the three-row Q7 and the two-row Q8 SUV “coupe”. The new SQ7 will be the highest-performance version of Audi’s family-size SUV, while the SQ8 will sit between the standard Q8 models and the already-announced ultra-high-performance RS Q8.
Audi’s SQ7 and the SQ8 are both powered by the brand’s versatile 4.0-liter V8 abetted by a pair of twin-scroll turbochargers. Output for these “S” models is an even 500 horses along with 568 lb-ft of torque. That makes for a substantive jump over the standard Q7 and Q8, in which a turbocharged V6 makes 355 horsepower and 369 lb-ft, and yet it still maintains a respectful distance from the 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque this same 4.0L V8 makes in the ne-plus-ultra RS Q8.
0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds
That 500 horsepower is enough to send either Audi SUV from zero to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. Quattro all-wheel drive is, naturally, standard, and here features a default 60-percent rear torque bias. Audi’s sport rear differential, which can shunt torque from side-to-side across the rear axle, is an option on both models.
The new SQ8 and SQ7 borrow a couple of chassis features from the high-zoot RS Q8, including standard rear-axle steering and optional active anti-roll bars, the latter powered by a separate, 48-volt electrical system (which also expands the window in which the auto stop-start system operates).
Special design cues
The new sporting models’ design elements include a choice of satin-aluminum or gloss-back exterior trim, silver mirror caps, and quad exhaust outlets. The SQ7 further gets a reshaped, octagonal grille, and rolls on special 20- or 21-wheel wheels. The SQ8’s footwear is an inch bigger at 21 or 22 inches. Inside, both get special sport front bucket seats with a unique stitch pattern and standard seat heating and cooling.
Pricing for the 2020 SQ7 and SQ8 has not yet been announced, but figure on a starting figure north of $70k for the SQ7 and something approaching $90k for the SQ8. Both models are set to arrive in dealerships in spring 2020.
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