We were the first to tell you that the SQ7 will be launched soon and that Audi will bring it to India. While we did tell you about how powerful the car was going to be and also that it would be the first car in the world to come with an electrically powered compressor (EPC) which will enable a boost in power figures and performance.
While we didn't have details about the engine back then, Audi has now made it official. We now know what's under the hood and it's a new turbodiesel which has been developed from ground up. It will develop 435bhp and a massive 900Nm of torques. Well, all that torque will be available from just 1000rpm, so expect it to sprint from the word go.
According to the folks at Audi, the SQ7 TDI will be able to do a sprint from 0-100km/h in just 4.8 seconds, while top speed has been electronically limited to 250km/h. But you might think that the SQ7 isn't a practical buy, well Audi has made sure that it is a practical buy too as though it's quicker it has the fuel consumption comparable to a six-cylinder engine. The hot diesel SUV returns 7.4 litres/100 km.
Let's talk about the technology then, which will make its debut in this powerful SUV. The EPC was implemented to support the eight-cylinder turbodiesel engine when starting off and during low rpms to eliminate turbo lag. Audi goes to the extent of saying that 'turbo lag is history.'
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The EPC is driven by an electric motor and has a compressor wheel which spins at up to 70,000 rpm which enables the V8 generate the power with no lag. The EPC develops a maximum power of 7 kW provided by a 48-volt electrical subsystem that includes a 48-volt lithium-ion battery located beneath the trunk. The battery has a nominal energy content of 470 watt-hours and a peak output of up to 13 kilowatts while a DC/DC converter connects the 48-volt and 12-volt electrical systems.
Audi SQ7 Cabin
Because of all these changes, Audi's engineers had to redesign the eight-speed tiptronic transmission so that it could keep up with the power supplied by the combination of the diesel engine and the EPC. It's obvious that this monstrous SUVs output is channeled to all four wheels thanks to the quattro permanent all-wheel drive system which works together with a self-locking central differential. Customers have the option of buying a driving dynamics package consisting of a sport differential, electromechanical active roll stabilization, and all-wheel steering.
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The Audi SQ7 doesn't hold the title of being the most powerful SUV in the world as the Range Rover Sport SVR is the current champion with 550bhp on offer. But this is Audi's most powerful SUV ever and is the lightest too and has a drag coefficient of 0.34. Customers will be able to order the model with either a five- or seven-seat layout.
We expect the SQ7 to hit Indian shores by second half of 2017.
