What can we expect from Audi’s future performance crossover SUV?
by Isaac Atienza, onThe second-generation Audi Q5 has been with us for quite a while now, which means that the brand’s popular compact crossover SUV is ripe for an overhaul. Prototypes of the standard Q5 have already been caught out in the open, but this is the first time that we’re getting a glimpse of its performance-oriented SQ5 variant.
The SQ5 Could be Inspired by the E-Tron Range
According to our spy photographer, the prototype we’re seeing here is indeed the next-generation Audi SQ5. This is thanks to a few key details hinting at its more potent driving dynamics, the most notable of which are the quad exhausts. Audi is known for doing fake exhausts, but there’s nothing fake when it comes to this prototype’s exhausts.
Another detail that’s easy to spot is its bigger brakes hiding behind those wheels. Apart from these changes, this camouflaged SQ5 prototype looks identical to the other Q5 prototypes we’ve recently seen.
While we still have no clue what the Q5 will exactly look like, we won’t be surprised if it will adopt a few design cues from the brand’s range of e-Tron electric SUVs, such as the Q4 e-Tron and even the e-Tron SUV itself.
An Updated Interior
Like the exterior, the interior is heavily-camouflaged, but we can safely expect the Q5 to share the same fundamental dash design as the A4 (and of course, the RS4 Avant) that we recently caught testing as well. Therefore, expect a dual-screen layout—one for the gauge cluster and the other for the MMI infotainment system.
But what will power the new Audi SQ5? Unfortunately, no one has any clue about what engine will be fitted under the future SQ5. Since this is a notch below Audi’s RS range of performance vehicles, we don’t expect it to come with a performance-oriented plug-in hybrid powertrain. Instead, it may keep the turbo V-6, or will Audi downsize the SQ5 to a four-pot engine. Either way, we expect a power figure of around 350-370 horsepower and a 48-volt mild-hybrid setup.
The next-generation Audi Q5 will most likely make its debut next year, while this performance-oriented SQ5 could possibly debut around late 2023 or early 2024.
Source: CarPix
