The Audi Q7 was introduced in 2006 in order to give the Cayenne a run for its money. Based off the same platform as the Porsche and VW Touareg, the luxury SUV from Audi makes use of the German automaker’s TDI technology with everything from a gas burning 280 HP 3.6 Liter V6 and a 4.2 Liter V8 making 350 HP to a diesel pumping 3.0 Liter diesel V6 making 225 HP with a few more MPG while the top of the line Audi Q7 is powered by a 500 HP 6.0 Liter turbo diesel V12.
More often than not, when the size of your family increases, the bulge in your back pocket gets smaller. However for a lucky few whose wallets manage to stay full even after the addition of a few offspring, they are in the fortunate position of not having to sacrifice the finer things in life, like a tuned high end people mover. Even though it has only been on the market for a short while now, the redesigned Audi Q7 is already a big hit in the tuner scene. A perfect example is this modified version from the German tuning house Caractere.
Not only will you be able to haul the kid to soccer practice and load up on umber for those time consuming weekend projects, but you will be able to do it in style. That is because the Caractere kit changes the appearance of the full size SUV by adding a more aggressive front bumper that makes use of the factory fog lights, the vehicle’s original Adaptive Cruise Control sensor and even incorporates the original headlight washers. Out back the new rear bumper can be ordered to fit vehicles with or without a trailer hitch depending on what kind of hauling duties the owner has planned for their Q7.
Finishing off the sporty styling of the Caractere kit is a wing atop the rear hatch, a set of bold wheel arches and the company’s signature CW1 wheels that are available in either 20 or 22 inch diameters.
ABT Sportsline is used to building entrants for Gemany’s DTM racing series, but are never too busy to tune any product out of the Audi catalog. When the tuners found out that the luxury carmaker was putting a turbocharged diesel V12 in the Q7, they couldn’t wait to turn up the boost. Output is up to 560 HP, from the factory 500 HP; and torque has been increased to 885 lb-ft from the standard 737.5 lb-ft of twist. The full size Audi SUV can now go from 0 to 60 MPH in just 5.3 seconds. Not bad for an alternatively fueled tuner truck.
The German automaker, Audi has prepared a subtle facelift for the 2010 model year, and part of that new lineup will be the next generation Q7 coming in 2011. If this year’s restyling didn’t quite do it for you, next year’s is going to be completely different. The biggest change will come at the front end with the headlights, and continue throughout the bodylines, creating a much more aggressive, sharper design.
The front grill will now be hexagonal in shape, with a series of LED driving lights on either side. New for the next generation Audi SUV will be an all-new 2.0 Liter TFSI motor that will put out 210 HP. All of the familiar engine options will be back as well. Except for the alternatively fueled, the extremely torquey, V12 TDI version will be dropped for the future.
When European tuners talk about ICE they are referring to in car entertainment. That was one of the main aspects that PPI Design focused on when they created the PPI ICE from an Audi Q7. The tuners stuffed enough gadgets into the interior to keep any computer geek occupied for hours.
After revealing the facelift version of the Q7 SUV, Audi also revealed the first official video of the SUV. The new Q7 comes with a slightly restyled grille, new bumpers and xenon headlights.
