Audi’s Q-model quagmire sucks in TT and A2
Audi plans to reboot its A2 and TT icons as electric-powered
SUVs, as it seeks to expand the Q line-up to a mind-boggling 10 models by 2018.
Q models from 1 to 8 are easy to imagine, but jumped-up versions of its famed
sports car and humpbacked 1999 fuel miser are more of a leap.
Audi has put a digit in the drink with this year’s TT Off
road concept (pictured), which faithfully previews the proposed production TTQ.
Imagine a four-door TT coupe stretched to the same length as a Q3, but 80mm
lower and a bit wider. The TTQ would be based on MQB-A – the beefed-up,
SUV-oriented version of the Golf hatch’s platform – although Audi sources say
TTQ would feel more sporty to drive than its SUV cousins.
TT Off-road
concept (above) unveiled at the 2014 Beijing show. It ran a plug-in hybrid,
mating 2.0-litre petrol power to electric motors acting on front and rear axles
If you think an SUV version of a car trumpeted as a genuine
sports car is barmy, wait ’til you hear about the powertrain: it could be a
pure electric vehicle, running e-quattro four-wheel drive. Unsurprisingly the
volume projections for this ultra-niche model are looking iffy, so Audi might
have to offer combustion engines too if the TTQ is to make production in 2017.
Then there’s the A2Q, another of Audi’s self-styled Q-icons.
Ingolstadt showed a pure electric A2 concept car back in 2012 (above),
‘designed for electric driving in the megacities of the future’. Some sprawling
Chinese cities are under increasing pressure to ban non-zero-emission cars to tackle
smog and this, coupled with their denizens’ love of SUVs, could underpin the
A2Q business case.
Jacked Up Q - Big,
21-inch wheels, a higher ride height and grey body protection add SUV DNA
Under the skin, the A2Q would be closely related to the TTQ,
but the body design would pay homage to the 1999 city car’s. In keeping with
the original A2’s aluminium construction, the A2Q could be marketed as a
lightweight, zero-emission car, if it makes production in 2018. There are no
plans for an A2 without the Q makeover.
Four-Door Q - Two
extra doors and rear seats ‘comfortable’ for adults, claims Audi
Another quirky Q car is the Q6. This upmarket, crossover
coupe model is being conceived from scratch as a battery-powered Tesla fighter,
though it will come with other powertrains too. The ZEV edition features a
so-called monolithic battery pack integrated in the car’s floor pan along with
two potent 200bhp electric motors, one per axle, for e-quattro. Fully charged,
it could travel a Tesla-beating 435 miles.
The Q6 is a sportier-looking, longer Q5: both share a
platform and four- and six-cylinder petrols and diesel engines, plus a plug-in
hybrid.
The daddy of the Q range will be the Q8 in 2017. Audi
reckons a big 4x4 coupe would outsell an S-class rivalling, two-door coupe four
times over. Like Q7, the Q8 will be offered as a plug-in hybrid – based on a
petrol-fed V6 for export, and a V6 TDI in Europe. A 408bhp V8 SQ8 is a cert for
2018; the diesel flagship would run a new, 5.0-litre V10 TDI.
From A Very Long Q…
Q1: 2016 Almost as
big as today’s Q3; based on SUV version of Golf platform
Q2: on hold Two-door coupe shown as Crosslane concept in
2012
TTQ: 2017 Four-door coupe, based on MQB-A platform,
electric four-wheel drive
A2Q: 2018 (left) Fuses A2 silhouette with Q chassis,
electric-drive only
Q3: 2018 Bigger Mk2 is based on next VW Tiguan platform
(MQB-A plus)
Q4: on hold Longer, more coupe-like and more upmarket than
Q3
Q5: 2016 Lighter and more spacious thanks to MLB-evo
platform
Q6: 2017 Stretched Q5 to tackle Tesla, as electric 4x4 with
435-mile range
Q7: 2015 Bigger but 350kg lighter seven-seater, paired with
Bentley
Q8: 2017 Luxurious, four-door coupe/crossover flagship based
on MLB-evo
