Audi SQ7 TDI boasts 320kW engine with ‘three chargers’

Audi is focusing on the roads less traveled this year in Geneva, with updates to its Q lines across the board. But the most interesting of the lot, at least for power and eco-enthusiasts, is the Audi SQ7 TDI.

Based on the mammoth five-metre long Q7, the car boasts a 4.8-litre V8 diesel engine producing 320kW and a planet-spinning 900 Nm of torque, and can reach 100km/h from standstill in 4.8 seconds. That latter number is an impressive demonstration of this car’s grunt.

That’ll likely help off-road too (if you’re brave enough to take it rock climbing, that is). Although Audi’s main focus in the engine, the SQ7 also features “networked suspension control” which includes “an optional driving dynamics package comprising three technology modules: sport differential, electromechanical active roll stabilization and all-wheel steering,” explains the press release.

All suspension controls are managed by a central unit which Audi claims helped the developers claim an “optimal networking and coordination of the functions.”

Back to the engine though — the real star of the show.

Audi’s using an electric-powered compressor (EPC) for the first time on a production car, alongside two traditional turbochargers. Instead of relying on exhaust gases to spin the turbines and force air into the engine, the EPC can spin up to optimal operating revs in a matter of moments, giving the engine all of its available power from low down the rev range.

“The EPC provides the engine the boost energy needed for the dynamic delivery of power in less than 250 milliseconds,” Audi claims. “Driven by a compact electric motor, its compressor wheel spins up to 70 000 revolutions per minute.”

The car will be available in Germany initially for €89 900, which is around R1.5-million when converted directly. No South African availability information has been provided as yet.