Ingolstadt has been teasing us with concept cars and design sketches for over a year, now finally the Audi Q8 breaks cover in all its production form glory.

A new look

The Q8 is the boldest design of the Audi Q family to date. The Q8’s prominent grille treatment is the new face of Audi’s SUV family. The gently sloping roofline ends in raked rear fenders and flared wheelarches.

As you can see from the images above the Q8’s shape is that of sloped-roof SUV, not dissimilar to the BMW X6 or Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe. Standard LED headlamps and a body-wide rear light element really set the Q8 apart from its siblings.

At nearly five metres long and two metres wide the Q8 casts the largest footprint of any Audi SUV model. But at 1,71 metres it is shorter than the Q7 upon which it is based.

Click here to read a review of the Q8’s bigger sibling, the Lamborghini Urus.

On and off-road ability

Power will be handled by the firms Quattro all-wheel-drive system. The purely mechanical center differential of the Q8 transfers torque to the front axle and rear axle at a ratio of 40:60 as standard. When required, it transfers the majority to the axle with the better traction.

The Q8 has as much as 254 mm of ground clearance, short overhangs and hill descent control means the Audi Q8 can keep going even after the pavement ends.

The suspension with damper control is standard. Audi Q8 offers adaptive air suspension with controlled damping as an option, with either comfort or sport setup. It adjusts the ride height depending on the driving situation and the driver’s preference by as much as 90 mm.

Mild hybrid

Audi hasn’t yet revealed full information on powertrain options, but expect it to mirror that of the Q7 range quite closely.

All drive systems include a new mild hybrid technology (MHEV) component. The 48-volt primary electrical system incorporates a lithium-ion battery and a belt alternator starter. During braking, it can recover up to 12 kW of power and feed it back into the battery. The MHEV technology enables long coasting phases with the engine deactivated and a start-stop range that begins at 22 km/h.

Snazzy interior

Inside, the Audi Q8 will feature the latest technologies and systems from Audi. The MMI touchscreen display with its black-panel look, it almost dissolves into a large, black surface when switched off.

Nearly every function can be accessed via two large displays. The upper 10,1-inch display is used for controlling the infotainment and the navigation system. The driver uses the 8.6-inch display below that for heating and air conditioning, convenience functions and text input

Vital car info is displayed on a fully digital Audi virtual cockpit. Its high-resolution 12.3-inch display can be switched between two views via the multifunction steering wheel.