First US Q7 diesel and hybrid coming next year

Audi has been working on a hybrid engine with Volkswagen and Porsche. But Audi will be the first of the partners to launch a vehicle with the electric and gasoline engine. Porsche said a hybrid Cayenne SUV will be sold in the United States at the end of the decade.

Audi will deliver a hybrid Q7 beginning late next year. Tthe Q7 will have a 3.6-liter, 280-hp gasoline fuel-injected engine mated to the electric engine. The hybrid system will use about 23 percent less fuel — getting about 23 mpg — than a Q7 running only on gasoline, said Bast (or 9.8 liters of fuel per 100 km). Audi says it cannot provide a mileage range.

On the diesel side, Audi plans to bring in a turbodiesel Q7 with a 3.0-liter V-6 powerplant producing about 230 hp and about 400 pounds-feet of torque. It will be available for all 50 states at the end of 2008 in low volume. The diesel is expected to have a 600-mile range on one tank of fuel.