So what happens when you chuck in the world’s most powerful production diesel engine and slap on some exclusive styling? You get the Audi SQ7 – a sleek sledgehammer of a car.
It’s a tactic used across the Audi brand: gift the standard model a significant power upgrade, some aggressive styling, slap an S at the start of the name and voila, you’ve got a hot performance-focussed interpretation of what used to be a generally sensible car. However, this is the first time that Audi has applied the S treatment to its seven-seater SUV.
Out goes the Q7’s three-litre four-pot turbodiesel engine, instead the SQ7 is driven by a four-litre V8 unit, and it’s amazing what a difference it makes.
Power output is virtually doubled from 215bhp in the entry level Q7 to 429bhp, which means it can get from nought to 62mph in 4.9 seconds (rather than 7.3s), with the red line climbing all the way to 155mph where that kind of insane speed is safe and legal.
Watch it drag-race a fighter jet in this video:
Audi says it is consigning turbo lag to the history books by arming the SQ7 with two turbochargers, which are sequentially activated to achieve unparalleled pulling power in this class.
Both the Q7 and SQ7 are all-wheel drive and both use an eight-speed automatic gearbox. However, torque is almost doubled, from 500Nm to 900Nm with the engine rotating between 2,200 and 2,700rpm.
What goodies lie inside the cabin though? Well, there’s high quality Valcona leather upholstered across all seven seats with S embossing to avoid any confusion over which car you’re in, rear view camera, and Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, arguably the finest infotainment system available in a production car right now.
All SQ7s come on 21-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, but you can upgrade to 22-inch at the expense of ride comfort. Other optional extras include carbon ceramic brakes, matrix LED headlights, a tour pack which adds traffic jam assist and night vision, sports seats with contrasting diamond stitching, and a 1,920-watt 3D surround sound system from Bang & Olufsen.
So, how much for this elegant thug of an automobile? Prices start at £70,970 OTR, and you can test drive one right now.
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