Audi may show Q7 V12 TDI concept in Detroit
click on above image to view high-resolution gallery
This little number caught us off gaurd when one of our sources directed us to the VWVortex.com forums. Audi already unveiled the Q7 V12 TDI back in September at the Paris Motor Show. We were in awe of the engine that doesn't have to trace its root far back before it runs right into the same V12 diesel that powers the R10 Le Mans racer. This angelic-looking Q7 has the same V12, according to the forum poster, and it produces the same 500 horsepower and 738 ft-lbs. of glorious torque.
Perhaps Audi wanted to dress up the Q7 V12 TDI for its debut in North America, because from what we know this vehicle is Detroit-bound. There are a few changes to the vehicle that set it apart from the one we saw debut in Paris, including a front end with more LEDs around the headlights and a slightly modified lowe air intake. Out back the reverse lights have been relocated from the stop lamps into their own strip along the bumper that was previously housing reflectors. The center stop lamp housed beneath the rear spoiler is now also a string of red LEDs. The faux-diffuser in the lower bumper is slightly different, and finally the pair of exhaust tips embedded in the rear skirt are now ovular. The white paint job is new (and nice), but the wheels, oddly enough, are the same as the one's we saw in Paris.
The interior of this mild concept has also been cleaned up with the creamiest-looking leather applied to every visible surface, new gauges (220 mph!), and a new center information display that now both color and sporting a higher resolution. If you check out our gallery of high-resolution pics, you'll notice the center information display is showing a g-meter.
We have no information on this Q7 V12 TDI concept other than the few words accompanying it in the forum we found it. Audi has said nothing official about it, so its attendance in Detroit is not guaranteed. However, if it were to arrive stateside, its presence at the Detroit show would certainly fuel our hope that Audi's thinking about selling the Q7 V12 TDI here in addition to Europe. We'll find out soon enough.
[Source: VWVortex.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
pbrown 5:56PM (1/05/2007)
Sweeet,Bring it and we will buy,the US loves Torque Monsters and creamy leather.
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che culattone 6:02PM (1/05/2007)
oh god, i just wet myself...
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maximus 6:02PM (1/05/2007)
PLEASE Leave this alone when u sell it here! Im going to go put money down.
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Tim UF 6:12PM (1/05/2007)
so, the V10 TDI wasnt enough of a stump (or Boeing 747) pulled, they have to add a couple more cyls? That sounds like american thinking, more than it does german engineering
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Alex 6:10PM (1/05/2007)
I WANT IT BADLY!!!
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John P. 6:24PM (1/05/2007)
I love it! That Prison Bar Grille is so Gangsta!
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GrowUp 6:34PM (1/05/2007)
Nice looking suv. I wonder, though...12 cylinders? At what point does it become the automotive equivalent of stuffing a pair of socks in your britches?
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David P Brown 6:46PM (1/05/2007)
SEE! I said the Q7 looks so much better without that stupid grey plastic on the bottom...just not worth an extra 50k :)
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chuck goolsbee 6:53PM (1/05/2007)
Do we REALLY need another gigantic, road-hugging, fuel-inefficient (even if it is Diesel), soft-roader? Audi of all companies should be able to think a bit more laterally.
I don't pull stumps.
I don't pull boats.
I don't pull campers.
I don't pull 747s.
All I pull is my ass to work. Period.
I don't need to seat 6 of my friends.
I don't want a "family truckster".
I don't want another 5000lb vehicle on the road.
I don't want more "me too" SUVs.
I want a TDI-powered LIGHTWEIGHT 2 seater with the option of an open roof.
I want a sports-commuter car. I want something reminiscent of a "Little British Car" of the 1960s. Small, lightweight, economical, open-topped. "There is a lot of joy to be had driving a slow car fast."
I don't need 8 more cylinders to do that. 4 is more than enough. Thank you.
Imagine what a light 2-seater with a TDI could do! 60 MPG? 80 MPG? More?
Biofuels eliminate the Diesel/roadster "smell" factor... unless you count the smell of french fries as unpleasant. Having a lightweight chassis enhances the fuel economy. Open top inserts the fun. LBC's also had engines of "agricultural" origin, but that didn't stop our forebears from having a blast driving TR3s, little Healeys, and MG's! With today's technology (TDI, CAD/CAM, lightweight materials) you could truly build a safe, economical, leak-proof, reliable, beautiful, usable, WONDERFUL car. Something the Miata and TT came close to, but missed (both too heavy, neither with an option for Diesel.)
Who cares about big engines, big horsepower, big weight? Well, we have to care because that is all we can choose at the moment. =\
Think about it.
--chuck
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rbw 7:15PM (1/05/2007)
chuck - a 2 seater? Why so wasteful? You said you are just driving yourself to work. Get a motorcycle and stop being a such a drain on the envoronment! YOU don't need a 2 seater.
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chuck goolsbee 8:54PM (1/05/2007)
Hey, every once in a while I'll bring a dead-head along so I can use the HOV lane. Handy for those Friday afternoon commutes.
--chuck
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chewy 11:37PM (1/05/2007)
This is totally awesome. Audi had released CGIs (computer generated images) of the Q7 V12 TDI and images in September. The engine itself made it to the Paris autoshow but it was just sitting outside and not inside the Q7. It looks like this time the engine will be inside the Q7 actually. What a beast, and gets 20 mpg combined on the European fuel economy test so think something like 18/22 for the current EPA test.
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Peter S. 9:53PM (1/05/2007)
people so arrogant...
This is more like super car in SUV form, since this is pretty much audi R10 in audi Q7's clothing.
Ah I wonder how this would cost keeping in that VW's tdi v10 cost around 60k, this would be around 100k?
I bet the name R7 or RS7 would be more appropriate.
So here we go the most powerfull SUV on the face of the earth, and it's a diesel, hopefully will be able to run on biodiesel
oh and btw to everyone who complains if you don't like it's ok, since not many of us will be able to afford it. But hey that is another point that diesel might rule the wold in the future :P
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MikeW 10:42PM (1/05/2007)
The V10 was/is old tech. only 2 valves per cylinder, but still made as much torque as the transmission could handle.
The V12 is more modern, 4 valve per cylinder, makes nearly 500hp & 737ft-lbs, as much torque as the transmission can handle (again)
Will this 500ps diesel engine get better mileage than a 500ps gasoline engine? Yes, its a diesel.
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Kurtis 11:50PM (1/05/2007)
Its not the same le mans engine!! Its a different engine...do a search and u'll see
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Kurtis 8:16AM (1/06/2007)
Man this is some mis-reporting...please see info about where the engine is really from:
http://www.caranddriver.com/previews/11892/2007-audi-q7-v-12-tdi.html
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Kurtis 8:10AM (1/06/2007)
check
http://www.caranddriver.com/previews/11892/2007-audi-q7-v-12-tdi.html
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ruggels 5:09AM (1/06/2007)
"That sounds like american thinking, more than it does german engineering"
Well Tim UF, the next time we see an American company compete in LP1 LeMans, Run undefeated (except by their fellow corporate brethren during the launch year of said companies most important model to date), and then decide to up the ante by competing with the most successful diesel LeMans car to date, maybe the majority of us will take your comment with more then a grain of salt.
As it stands, the V12 TDI comes from audi's R10 race car which competes in a race called LeMans, a race it swept. Audi put the V12 TDI in their Q7 as it was the only car who could fit it at the time (it has sense been indicated that it will fit in R8 though cooling needs to be worked out). Thus the V12 TDI Q7 follows the RS4, and other early cars in commemorating race success by including some of that formula in their production cars... that and there wouldn't be an R10 if there wasn't a direct possibility of the V12 being employed in at least one Audi car (Audi's said this multiple times).
Try to at least pay attention to autoblog/jalopnik/caranddriver/every-car-magazine-on-the-planet and then try to figure out why Audi's building this car.
It is pretty amusing we have to address this issue EVERy time the V12 TDI is mentioned, I guess audi's success with the powerplant hasn't made the massive inroads we expected
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ruggels 5:09AM (1/06/2007)
"I want a TDI-powered LIGHTWEIGHT 2 seater with the option of an open roof. "
I agree whole heartedly, especially as audi has already (Well VAG) shown off such a concept. The trouble is, luxo SUVs with performance cred bring in the cash, and the Q7, with an estimated fuel consumption that's the same as the V10 Touareg, but with 200 more hp and 200 more foot lbs of torque, will find buyers. Hell they don't even have to sell them here, they'd sell like hot-cakes in places where diesels dominate luxury sales, ie europe :)
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Peter 6:32AM (1/06/2007)
> Well Tim UF, the next time we see an American company
> compete in LP1 LeMans, Run undefeated (except by their
> fellow corporate brethren during the launch year of
> said companies most important model to date), and then
> decide to up the ante by competing with the most
> successful diesel LeMans car to date
By 2005 ACO regulations had strangled the R8 down to a point where it couldn't win on speed anymore but was able to only very narrowly beat the Pescarolos with its efficiency and durability. On the other hand the rules were changed to make Diesel engines very competetive (in anticipation of Peugeot's return to the 24). Audi didn't up the ante but simply analysed the rules and built the car that took most advantage of them. Not saying the R10 isn't an amazing achievement. I was there, the Audi show was just stunning. Next to the rest of the field these slick silver nearly silent cars looked like a piece of alien technology, just pulling calmly away without any apparent effort. The Pescas in contrast were obviously pushing really hard in the first laps, frantically slamming over the curbs, but still just couldn't touch the speed of the Audis. And when they came in for fuel, the Audis would just keep going. And going. The real feat of Audi is not using the Diesel. It's developing a car using that technology in a matter of less than a year not only capable of completing the 24h but doing so nearly trouble free.
> As it stands, the V12 TDI comes from audi's R10 race
> car
No, it doesn't. Most obvious is the completely different block, and I promise you most of the in ternals won't have more than a passing resemblance either. Still, I'm sure the road versions will profit a lot from the experience gathered by developing the race engine. No better place to learn than endurance racing.
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