Audi is working on an SUV that will be above the Q7 in terms of size. That was already known on the basis of spy photos. That car is now leaking onto the internet, but it has a special name given its size. He will be called Q6. Yet that name helps somewhat to solve the puzzle surrounding this car.
Thanks to the Instagram account ‘Avarvarii’ we can now get to know the Audi Q6 before the brand itself has publicized it. Initially it was thought that this SUV would be called Q9. This has been speculated about for years. Not surprising, because Audi recorded that model name in 2013. However, the designation on the trunk shows ‘Q6′. The collection of Chinese characters above the ’40 TFSI’ on the right makes it clear that this SUV is destined for the Chinese market. The photos are also from the Chinese Patent Office.
Volkswagen Atlas
So no Q9, but what is the Q6? With the spy photos, it was still the question whether the SUV would rank above the Q7 in the Audi hierarchy. That was because the body of the car showed strong similarities with that of the Volkswagen Atlas, which in China is called Teramont. Those SUVs are both larger than the Audi Q7 and are on the MQB platform, a platform that is lower on the ladder than the MBLevo platform on which the Q7 is enthroned. The model name Q6 therefore shows that the new large SUV from Audi is larger than the Q7, but is still lower in the range. This makes the Q6 in fact the premium version of the Teramont. The Q6 is probably even a bit bigger, because it seems to have a larger overhang at the back. The exact dimensions are not yet known.
The Q6 stands out at the front because of the lighting, the units of which are connected to each other with an LED strip above the grille. Audi has not applied this before. The rear lights are optically connected to each other in a red area. It is not clear whether that also (partly) lights up. In the interior, the steering wheel from the e-tron and A8 can be seen, in addition, the Q6 has a digital cockpit and two touchscreens for operating the MMI system. In terms of available engines, there seems to be at least a 40 TFSI with Quattro four-wheel drive in the barrel. On our market, the 2.0 four-cylinder turbo produces 204 hp.
Audi Q6
So in China there will soon be two variants of the Q6: this large SUV on the MQB platform and the Q6 e-tron, which is a lot smaller and has a completely different design. Europe will also get a Q6 e-tron, but it seems to be quite different from the Chinese variant on the spy photos. Worldwide, there will soon be at least three models that bear the Q6 designation. Like the Atlas and Teramont, this Q6 will most likely not come to Europe.
With the leak of the Q6, a Q9, which should then be above the Q7, seems to be off the track for the time being. In any case, that car has never surfaced in camouflage packaging. With this, Audi is not currently playing in the segment of ultra-luxury German SUVs, where the BMW X7 and the Mercedes-Benz GLS are now in charge.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl