Click the Q7 4.2 TDI for a high-res gallery

At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Audi made a big show of the Q7 TDI that they were planning to introduce to the U.S. market. That particular model is coming late this year or early next and will be powered by a 3.0L V-6 diesel. At the same show the Germans also showed a concept version of the Q7 powered (or should I say torqued?) by a new 6.0L V-12 TDI paying homage to the success of the R10 TDI Le Mans race car. Last month at the Geneva Motor Show, Audi announced that the V-12 Q7 would be going into limited production later this year.

In between those two diesel extremes lies a third Q7 TDI that's been available in Europe for the past year. This third model uses Audi's 4.2L V-8 diesel and it won't be coming to the U.S. market. However, thanks to the kind folks at Honeywell, we had a chance to sample a Q7 4.2 TDI recently in and around Ann Arbor. Like fuel and exhaust system supplier Bosch, Honeywell has a vested interest in promoting diesel adoption in the U.S. market. Honeywell is the owner of the turbocharger manufacturer formerly known as Garret and they supply turbos for many of the diesel engines currently on the market. To help promote the technology they have a fleet of current European diesel models that they are exposing to American media including this Q7. Read on after the jump to find out how the Q7 TDI comported itself.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Following the meeting of the Audi Dealer Council at last weekend's National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention, Audi dealer Joel Weinberger spilled some product beans to Automotive News. First up is information we already know, a diesel version of the big Q7 SUV is coming around the end of this year. The Q7 is based on the same platform as the Volkswagen Touareg, and production of the Touareg TDI with a 3.0L V-6 diesel kicks off in November. The Q7 diesel should launch around the same time. A hybrid version of the Q7 will follow at an undetermined date, thought to be in the first half of 2009. Later this year Q7 will get a little sibling in the shape of the VW Tiguan based Q5. The powertrain sequence for the Q5 will be reversed, with a hybrid launching first. A diesel will come later, with timing perhaps based on the market acceptance of other diesel models in the VW/Audi lineup. Weinberger didn't say anything about hybrid pricing but indicated that the diesel would command the same $2,000 premium that VW will be asking for its diesel models.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

We've talked before about the seemingly inexorable increases in engine power output while fuel economy is stagnant or moves up only slightly and of course European manufacturers are not immune. Audi has just bumped the output of 3.0L TDI V-6 in the Q7 from 233 hp to 240 hp. At the same time they did improve the mileage from 22.4 to 24.0 mpg (US), which is certainly impressive for such a heavy SUV. We should be getting the Q7 TDI here in the US later in 2008.

[Source: Audi]