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Audi's Q8 Concept previews a 2018 personal luxury crossover

Audi revealed the Q8 Concept here at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, and it's just as we expected: a Q7 with frameless windows, an oversized grille, and a rakish "coupe-like" roofline. This concept is an exaggerated example of a vehicle that will almost certainly enter production to do battle with BMW's vanity luxury utility, the X6, and Mercedes-Benz's GLE Coupe. The coupe moniker doesn't really apply, despite the German automakers' best attempts to redefine the word, but otherwise the Q8 Concept delivers. It's two inches shorter overall than a contemporary Q7, on a similar wheelbase, so the basic proportions of the thing should make the jump to production. View 14 Photos The driveline is equally plausible: a plug-in hybrid setup pairing a 3.0-liter TFSI V6 with a 17.9-kWh lithium-ion battery. The concept's V6 hypothetically makes 333 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque, and a single electric motor integrated into the eight-speed automatic transmission adds 100 kW (134 hp) and 234 lb-ft of torque to the mix. Those numbers certainly make sense, considering the gas Q7 makes 333 hp (albeit with a supercharger) and the existing Q7 e-tron, which isn't sold here, pairs a 17.3-kWh battery with a diesel V6. Since this is a concept, production intent or no, the range numbers are also a little theoretical, but here's what Audi claims: a 60-mile EV range, and a total range of around 621 miles. Not shabby if you're taking a long road trip. The adaptive air suspension should also make it a comfortable one. Inside, this is a four-place vehicle; no third row, and no center rear seat, as is the trend with these things. The cabin is very clean and modern – typically Audi, although exaggerated a bit. Expect it to be toned down some for production, but this concept interior is a glimpse into the future. We'll have to wait until next year to see something closer to production-ready, but it's coming. Related Video: Related Gallery Audi Q8 Concept View 30 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Green Detroit Auto Show Audi Crossover SUV Concept Cars Future Vehicles Hybrid Original Video 2017 Detroit Auto Show

Watch Stanford's self-driving Audi hit the track

Sending a self-driving race car around a track with nobody inside seems pointless – there's no driver to enjoy the ride, and the car certainly isn't getting a thrill out of it. But the students performing research with Stanford University's Audi TTS test rig "Shelley" (not to be confused with Audi's own self-driving race cars) are getting a kick out of the numbers generated by the machine. "A race car driver can use all of a car's functionality to drive fast," says Stanford Professor Chris Gerdes. "We want to access that same functionality to make driving safer." The teams push the car to speeds over 120mph and the computers have executed lap times nearly as fast as professional drivers. However, they also spend a lot of time maneuvering at 50 to 75 mph, the speeds where accidents are most likely to happen. That way, the students can figure out how to incorporate braking, throttle and maneuvering to develop new types of automatic collision avoidance algorithms. Better technology, for instance, could have saved Google from a recent slow-speed accident where its vehicle was struck by a bus. During race days, students break into teams to perform different types of research. "Once you get to the track, things can go differently than you expect. So it's an excellent lesson of advanced planning," says Gerdes. In the latest rounds of testing, for instance, one PhD student developed emergency lane-change algorithms, while another recorded a skilled human driver in an attempt to convert his behavior into a driving algorithm. The main goal, of course, is to prepare students for something they may not have expected -- an automotive industry that is adopting self-driving technology at breakneck speeds. This article by Steve Dent originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life. Green Audi Technology Coupe Autonomous Vehicles Racing Vehicles Performance Videos racecar research

Audi TT most likely to breed crossover derivative

Audi has been rolling out successive concepts based on the new TT. Aside from the production coupe and convertible, we've seen the Shooting Brake concept in Detroit, the Offroad concept in Beijing and, most recently, the Sportback concept in Paris. The clear message is that Audi plans on actually producing more derivatives of its stylish two-door, but the question is which one will come first?
Speaking with Britain's Car magazine in Paris this past week, Audi technical chief Ulrich Hackenberg indicated that, while the decision has still yet to be made, the crossover is the most likely candidate.
Producing the TT Offroad concept - or something like it - would give Ingolstadt another addition to its growing crossover lineup that already includes the Q3, Q5 and Q7. Whether this would come in addition to or instead of the rumored Q1 and Q4 models remains to be seen, but crossovers have become increasingly popular and profitable for German automakers like Audi.