2015 Audi A4 and Q7 Delayed Yet Again - Audi Bosses Want Styling and Suspension Further Tweaked

2015 Audi A4 and Q7 Delayed Yet Again - Audi Bosses Want Styling and Suspension Further Tweaked
Audi’s new head of R&D Ulrich Hackenberg is leaving no stone unturned, according to Focus. The German publication reports that the next generation of the A4 will be delayed until the summer of 2015 and that the next Q7 is being delayed again for sub-standard styling.

The new A4 was originally scheduled to launch later this year. The brand will use this extended timeframe to tweak the car’s styling and fine-tune the suspension and assistance systems. Moreover, Audi is rushing a plug-in hybrid option into production in order to make it available soon after the A4's launch.

Perhaps more intriguing, this is the second delay for the Q7 that’s been attributed to dissatisfaction with the SUV’s design. The Q7 was previously pushed back to accommodate changes requested by Audi’s former chief designer Wolfgang Egger. But Egger is gone, and Hackenberg and his new chief designer Marc Lichte have sent the designers back to the drawing board. They are working to take some of the aggressiveness out of the vehicle, which, according to an insider, “catered mainly to Russian tastes.”
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GermanNutGermanNut - 2/20/2014 10:07:49 AM
+4 Boost
It's better for Audi to take its time and create truly excellent cars in the 2015 A4 and Q7 models. Audi bosses are well aware of the "same sausage different length" design criticism and it appears they are going to fully address that concern, as well as many others like handling and dynamics.


Car4LifeCar4Life - 2/20/2014 10:29:42 AM
+1 Boost
Yep and until then it's smooth sailing for the all new C Class and solid selling GL for 2014


scenicbyway12scenicbyway12 - 2/20/2014 6:27:53 PM
+1 Boost
Nice spin.


cidflekkencidflekken - 2/20/2014 10:47:34 AM
+1 Boost
Is it just me or is the phrase, "catered mainly to Russian tastes", just completely odd? Russia represents such a small piece of the overall sales picture. Why would Audi have styled a car to cater to Russian tastes?


DTMFanDTMFan - 2/20/2014 12:00:39 PM
+1 Boost
Between this and the debacle over the 'will-they-wont-they' R8 e-tron and quattro coupe, I get the impression there is a lot of in-fighting in the management at Audi. It's good if it makes for a better product, but at the same time - are these products just going to be a mish-mash of different ideas with no clear focus?

As for the Russian market. Powerful SUV/SAV's are popular there, why not cater to them a little more.


cidflekkencidflekken - 2/20/2014 7:14:17 PM
+1 Boost
Good point about Russian's appetite for SUV/SAV (which I wasn't aware of), but it would seem like the US' appetite would be not only stronger, but stronger in a larger market. So, why not "cater" to US tastes?


quizzquizz - 2/20/2014 12:57:49 PM
+1 Boost
Peter Principle at work here... time waits for nobody


TheSteveTheSteve - 2/20/2014 1:02:56 PM
+1 Boost
I saw this picture of an alleged Audi SUV design, and came away shakimng my head, asking "what were they thinking?":
http://blog.caranddriver.com/audis-upcoming-q8-sleek-and-electrifying/

I feel Audi certainly needs something to spice up their bland exterior styling combined with addressing their quirky headlight treatments and gaping-hole grill.


GermanNutGermanNut - 2/20/2014 2:00:47 PM
+1 Boost
The "catered to Russian tastes" comment was likely in reference to how the Q7's design might have been too aggressive and loud. Audi certainly wants to increase the aggressiveness of its exteriors and differentiate more between models, but a "loud" and "in-your-face" design has never been Audi's design approach.


BMWm4BMWm4 - 2/20/2014 3:05:32 PM
+4 Boost
nuttie, I thought you said that Audi was trying to go away from having all their models look alike, yet from the A4 pictures above they are doing the exact opposite.


GermanNutGermanNut - 2/20/2014 3:38:34 PM
+1 Boost
BMWm4, you are missing two key points:

1) Audi has DELAYED the launch of the next A4 precisely because of design and suspension issues. This likely means Audi wants to make the A4 more aggressive and differentiated than what is seen in the photos above (but not so aggressive that it's obnoxious looking).

2) The photos above are not official sketches released by Audi. They are renderings by Car and Driver.


scenicbyway12scenicbyway12 - 2/20/2014 6:30:33 PM
+1 Boost
Like a bad movie script getting passed off to the next writing group, never bodes well for the film.


scenicbyway12scenicbyway12 - 2/20/2014 6:30:34 PM
+2 Boost
Like a bad movie script getting passed off to the next writing group, never bodes well for the film.
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