India-bound Audi Q8 debuts in US at $67,000

Audi’s all-new SUV, the luxury five-seater coupe-SUV, has made its US debut with a price tag starting from $67,000 (approx. Rs 48 lakhs). The top-spec trim of the performance-oriented SUV goes for $76,500 (approx. Rs 55 lakhs) and competes with the Porsche Cayenne, the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, the BMW X6 and the Jaguar F-Pace in the uber-sporty league of stylish SUVs.

It gets the typical Audi fascia with the hexagonal grille and a unique signature of LED DRLs. The hood is mounted high with a chunky front bumper which gets a bash plate as well. The profile is square but angled with a raked windshield, a sloping roof and almost a fastback tail. The flared wheel arches add character to the profile, making it one of the few good-looking coupe-SUVs in the market.

On the inside, the Audi Q8 is modern with its black and grey layout with a gloss finish on the dash and metallic finish on the trims. The centre console gets two screens stacked one above the other with the top one for the infotainment system while the other screen controls the automatic climate control and other in-car comfort features. The seats are upholstered in quilted leather with premium diamond stitch and the Q8 gets all the top of the line bells and whistles.

Under the hood, the Q8 gets the turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine that churns out 335bhp of power and 500Nm of torque. Armed with the Quattro all-wheel drive, it is capable of reaching 100kmph in less than 6 seconds in spite of weighing over two tons. The Audi Q8 is expected to arrive in India by 2019 as a part of Audi’s portfolio expansion plans. We can expect the Audi Q8 to be priced above the Q7, somewhere around Rs 1.1 crore, ex-showroom, India.