Set for UK sale from mid-2015, Ingolstadt’s flagship SUV boasts an evolutionary appearance with a bold new single-frame grille similar in design to that recently brought to the facelifted Q3, along with more defined wheel arches, tauter surfacing treatment, a more prominent shoulder and numerous crease lines within the flanks to help reduce its visual bulk.
The second-generation Q7 is based on a heavily modified version of Audi’s MLB platform that uses a combination of hot-formed high strength steel, aluminium and carbonfibre.
The exotic mixture of construction materials sees the new seven-seat SUV shed 325kg over the existing first-generation Q7, which has been in production since 2005.
The same platform is also planned to underpin successors to the second-generation Volkswagen Touareg, second-generation Porsche Cayenne, upcoming Bentley Falcon and, possibly, a production version of the Lamborghini Urus.
The new Audi Q7 will continue to offer seating for up to seven occupants, although the interior design has been significantly altered. Included is a clean looking dashboard with minimal switchgear and a free-standing infotainment monitor, a digital instrument binnacle similar to that unveiled on the latest TT and a prominent centre console with a newly designed MMI controller and gear lever.
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