Mild Hybrid Audi Q8 Sport Concept Shows Closer-to-Production SUV

Audi has already unveiled a Q8 concept earlier this year, but a closer-to-production concept has just debuted at the Geneva Motor Show.

With an entirely different powertrain than the first plug-in hybrid Q8 concept, this version is called the Audi Q8 Sport Concept and is powered by a 3.0-liter turbo V6 with mild hybrid technology and an electric-powered compressor. Total system output is rated at 476 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, which helps get the car to rest to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.7 seconds.

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The SUV should be able to drive 746 miles (1,2000 km) on a full tank of gas, and Audi says the mild hybrid system will eventually be used in production cars. The mild hybrid system is dual purpose: to increase fuel economy or to get an extra boost of instant power when needed. In stop and go traffic, for example, the Audi Q8 Sport Concept can move slowly on electric power alone. Audi is promising this system will have V8 performance with four-cylinder fuel economy.

Of course, the Audi Q8 Sport Concept will have all the latest connectivity, driver assistance and safety features like car-to-infrastructure and car-to-car communication, an expanded version of Virtual Cockpit, a head-up display, touch capacitive surfaces, and an adaptive air suspension.

In the looks department, the Q8 Sport Concept is slightly different and a bit more toned down from the Q8 concept that debuted early this year at the Detroit Auto Show. Still, the concept looks imposing and even with its sloping roofilne, Audi promises room for cargo and passengers will not be compromised.

A Q8 will join the Audi lineup as a production car sometime in 2018, and this concept previews what the German automaker has in store for a full-sized “coupe SUV.”