Audi to bring SQ7 to India this year

Audi will bring the recently revealed high-performance derivative of the second-gen Q7 SUV to India. Although the launch date hasn't been confirmed, it is likely that the Audi SQ7 will enter Indian showrooms by the end of 2016.

Significantly, the latest addition to the Q7 line-up is the first series production car to receive an electric powered compressor to boost the performance of its engine – a new 429bhp 4.0-litre V8 diesel, which is also destined for the fourth-generation A8 and a new Q8-badged range-topping SUV, both already under intensive development. 

In a first for Audi, it also uses electro-mechanical active roll stabilisation system to suppress roll during cornering as well as a 48-volt electric sub system in combination with the existing 12-volt electric system used on other new second-generation Q7 models. The SQ7 diesel is the first Q7 model to receive the 'S' treatment, following on from the SQ5.

Heading the list of developments brought to the SQ7 is an all-new diesel engine. With a swept volume of 3956cc, its overall displacement is 207cc smaller than that of the unit it replaces. It also adopts a new common rail injection system that generates up to 2500bar of injection pressure as well as Audi’s patented valve lift system – the latter marking the first time it has been applied to one of the German car maker’s diesel engines.

Much like rival BMW's most powerful version of the 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder diesel, the new Audi unit uses three chargers to boost induction. But whereas the BMW powerplant relies on three conventional exhaust gas-driven turbochargers, the new Audi engine receives two exhaust gas driven turbochargers and a separate electrically driven compressor in what the German carmaker is billing as a world first for a series production car.   

The two exhaust gas-driven turbochargers, mounted within the 90-degree angle of each cylinder bank to provide them with short flow paths, run in a sequential process, with the smaller turbocharger engaged at low and intermediate throttle loads and the second larger turbocharger activated at higher loadings. The electrically powered compressor, or EPC as commonly referred to, augments the efforts of the turbochargers by increasing the throughput of air within the induction system at lower low throttle loads in a bid to improve overall response.

The idea behind the new induction process applied by Audi to its new V8 is to use the additional air forced into the induction system by the EPC, whose compressor wheel spins at up to 70,000 rpm, to keep the smaller turbocharger primed and ready to spin back up to its maximum boost pressure as fast as possible so that full torque is available virtually the moment you get back on the throttle.

In the SQ7 diesel, the new engine produces 429bhp and 87.51kgm of torque on a band of revs between 1000 and 3250rpm. This is 94bhp and 10.23kgm more than Audi’s old twin-turbocharged 4.2-litre V8 diesel used in the superseded first-generation Q7 4.2 TDI. However, it is not the most powerful diesel to feature in the top-of-the-line Audi SUV. That honour rests with the discontinued twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12 diesel engine, which produced 493bhp and 101.8kgm in the memorable Q7 6.0-litre TDI.

The stout reserves of the SQ7 diesel are fed through an eight-speed automatic gearbox and Audi’s Torsen torque sensing four-wheel-drive system with a self locking centre differential to all four wheels. Buyers can also specify an optional sport differential, which provides a torque vectoring effect with a variable amount of drive between each of the individual rear wheels dependent on traction levels and wheel speed, making it the only Q7 model to offer it.

Audi quotes an official 0-100kph time of 4.8sec – some 1.3sec faster than the most powerful of existing Q7 models, the 328bhp supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine-powered 3.0 TFSI. Top speed is limited to 250kph.

The new Audi comes with standard 20-inch wheels fitted with 285/45 profile tyres, though it can be fitted with wheels up to 22-inch in diameter. An optional brake package using the same ceramic-carbon brake discs offered on the second-generation R8 are also among a long list of options.

The SQ7 diesel is differentiated from other second-generation Q7 models by a series of subtle exterior design revisions, including a new grille insert, uniquely styled bumpers, aluminium housings for the door mirrors and four rectangular tailpipes. As with its standard sibling, buyers can choose between a five- or seven-seat interior layout.

In India, the Audi SQ7 is likely to be priced at around Rs 25 lakh more than the standard diesel model.

Source: Autocar India