India-bound Audi SQ7 to launch by second half of this year
Last week, Audi revealed the performance based SQ7 SUV at their headquarters in Germany. The German carmaker claims that the Audi SQ7 will be the most powerful diesel SUV to be ever manufactured. The Audi SQ7 also comes with a world first electric powered compressor. Audi will bring the the SQ7 in Europe first and then will launch it in India by the second half of 2016.
The Audi SQ7 is powered by an all-new 4.0-litre V8 diesel motor which produces 435PS of power and 900Nm of torque. This motor comes mated to an updated eight-speed tiptronic transmission which makes it capable to do a claimed acceleration of 0 to 100kmph in 4.8 seconds. This motor can attain a max speed of 250kmph, which is impressive for a SUV of these dimensions.
Aesthetically it gets all the additions and sporty S bits but most importantly, the SQ7 will come with an electric powered compressor (EPC) which acts like an electric supercharger. The EPC is not powered by the engine but a motor that can spin up to 70,000 revolutions per minute. Â This negates the turbo lag at lower engine speeds. Audi claims that the EPC provides a boost in less than 250 milliseconds, which means as soon as the throttle is depressed, the electric compressor starts working.
The Audi SQ7 prices in Germany start at €89,900 (Rs 66.23 lakh). Audi India is expected to bring in the SQ7 by the second half of this year. Once launched in India, the SQ7 will compete against the Porsche Cayenne and Land Rover Range Rover.