Audi Q8 e-tron: new name and more range for Audi E-Tron

The Audi E-Tron was unveiled in 2018 with quite a bit of fanfare as Audi’s first EV. We now also know the Q4 e-tron and the low Audi E-Tron GT. In the future, we can expect more electric SUVs, so it’s time for a name change for the ‘original model’. Audi opts for the ‘Q8 e-tron’. That makes it bigger on paper than it actually is, because with its size, the Q5-like E-Tron does not match the Q8 that we already know. However, Audi chooses this name because the Q8 e-tron remains the thickest electric SUV of the brand for the time being. You can therefore rest assured that the eventual successor of this model will be a lot bigger than the current Q8 e-tron.

Contrary to what the name change suggests, there is not much exciting to be found on the outside and inside. Elsewhere on the site we go into more detail on a video, but the biggest news is actually the grille. It now runs under the headlights and has a changed layout. It is striking that the light units at the front and rear survive the battle unscathed. Audi says it has doubted about changes in this area, but states that the headlights in particular are too recognizable to change. Audi has adapted the technology in the ‘Digital Matrix Led’ headlights, so that they now have even more functions than before. Furthermore, the headlights get some optical support in the form of an LED strip, which is placed at the top of the grille and connects both light units. Of course, the E-Tron, albeit now under the name Q8 e-tron, will remain available as a regular SUV and as a sloping Sportback.

The interior even remains completely intact, except for some small differences in the colors and materials used. However, as subtly as Audi proceeds here, the brand rigorously cuts into the subcutaneous of the E-Tron. As a Q8 e-tron, the car continues where the original E-Tron left off, whether in terms of power or range. Let’s start with the battery pack. That was previously 65 kWh in the E-Tron 50, while the more expensive 55 and S versions could charge 87 kWh of power. With the Q8, the battery pack of the Q8 E-Tron 50 already measures 89 kWh, which is larger than the most powerful battery pack of the past. The 55 and S also return, but now have a battery of no less than 104 kWh on board.

The range of action naturally grows with it. Where the most unfavorable Audi E-Tron – the non-Sportback 50 – previously even in theory only traveled 300 kilometers, the Audi Q8 e-tron has a range of at least 480 kilometers. Again, that is more than what the topper in this area has achieved so far. With the larger 55 kWh battery pack, the new Q8 e-tron even travels up to 580 kilometers, compared to 446 kilometers for the most favorable version of the current model. With its three electric motors and large wheels, the Audi Q8 e-tron S still has a theoretical range of about 500 km.

The power of the 55 and S versions is not affected, but with 408 and 503 hp respectively, there was little reason to complain in that area. The base model, the Q8 e-tron 50, is improving, and now delivers 341 instead of 313 hp. The sprint from 0 to 100 is thus completed in 6 seconds. The Q8 e-tron 55 does that job in 5.6 seconds, in the S it is over in 4.5 seconds. The loading speed has also been improved. On the fast charger, the S now comes up to 150 kW, the other variants to 170. That is no longer earth-shattering, but just neat.

Type plates and logos

Finally, we still have to talk about an external change: the type plate. Of course it now says ‘Q8’ on the valve, but that’s not what we mean. Audi is introducing a revised brand logo on the Q8 e-tron, as well as a different font and fresh color scheme for the type designation. The emblem is that of the two-dimensional type that has been on the steering wheel of the Q4 e-tron for some time now. We have never seen it on the outside of an Audi before, but that changes with this Q8 e-tron. The logo is completely flat and has a black border around a white filling.

White is the new chrome.

‘Blackpack’ plus

If you order a ‘black plus optic package’, you will receive dark gray logos. This makes the Audi rings slightly more visible than now, because at the moment the emblem is also black. Now that it’s about black: Audi also distances itself from chrome for the other type plates. The ‘Q8’ on the lid is therefore always in black, regardless of the version, and in a new font that Audi will also use on other models. More details can be found on the B-pillar, in a small and matte black-on-black print. For example, there it says ‘Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron quattro’, but not a 50 or 55. The reference to the type of power source can no longer be found on the Q8 e-tron, so for the neighbors you already have that 55 no longer available to purchase.

We will soon know what it costs to own an Audi Q8 e-tron. The market launch is planned for February 2023.