Audi Unleashes Monster V12 Performance SUV

By Motoring Channel Staff - 15/Sep/2006

Ingolstadt, Germany — Rather than going down the same path as Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, who all use high performance petroleum engines to deliver maximum performance in their flagship SUV models, Audi is paving its own road.

Meet the new Audi Q7 V12 TDI, powered by a V12 diesel engine. It joins Audi's Q7 Hybrid as yet another dynamic performance SUV from the German car company, which will rival vehicles like the Cayenne Turbo and ML 63 AMG for outright performance.

Able to scramble from 0-100km/h in only 5.5 seconds the Q7 V12 TDI is a very rapid vehicle, yet it's remarkably fuel efficient, drinking diesel fuel at a rate of just 11.9L/100km.

The hulking Q7 luxury SUV marks a world-first for Audi, as the first 12-cylinder diesel engine in a series passenger car. The 6.0-litre V12 makes its debut in the Audi Q7, generating a stump-pulling 368kW of power (500bhp) and 1000Nm of torque and opens a new chapter in the diesel history books.

Audi says the V12 turbo diesel engine is reminiscent of the engine featured in the new R10 Le Mans racing car and that none of its competitors can offer a comparable engine.

The V12 race engine in the R10, upon which this new production series engine is based on, had a smaller 5.5-litre engine capacity and reached a top speed of 330km/h. The power and endurance of the R10 was clear from an early stage, but unlike most racing engines, the powerful Audi diesel engine was whisper-quiet.

Transferring race car technology into series production is an Audi tradition, as the FSI engine in the predecessor to the R10 (the R8) notched up five victories in Le Mans with its petrol direct injection, and this FSI technology was quickly adapted for the production line. The most recent examples of this are the high-revving V8 in the RS 4 and the V10 FSI in the S6 and S8.

The Q7's massive V12 engine features a cylinder angle of 60° and is the first production vehicle to use Bosch's cutting edge common-rail diesel pressurisation system, that puts up to 2000-bar of pressure on the diesel fuel before its injected into the cylinders.

This high pressure system enhances both performance and efficiency, and Audi says the running smoothness also remains excellent. Exhaust emissions are also low, as the twin-turbo V12 diesel engine conforms to the Euro 5 emissions class which come into force in 2010, and again, fuel consumption is excellent for a 6.0-litre engine at only 11.9 litres per 100 kilometres.

Such unbelievable levels of power and torque catapult the driving performance of the Audi Q7 into the echelons of top-class sports cars. The big SUV sprints from 0 to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds, and has an electronically governed top speed of 250km/h. Maximum torque of 1000Nm is available from just 1750rpm and will be enough to tow almost anything you can load on to a trailer. The V12 TDI transmits its 368kW of power through a new 6-speed tiptronic gearbox to the quattro permanent four-wheel drive system.

The Audi Q7 V12 TDI is impressive not only with regard to technology but also in terms of appearance. The most striking visual changes to the Audi Q7 are the underbody panels at the front and rear, where features like the chrome-plated single-frame radiator grille evokes the tradition of the Audi S6 and S8 with their aggressive stylings.

Audi has yet to release pricing on the new model, and there's no information regarding the vehicle's arrival in Australia. However, Volkswagen already has its V10 turbo diesel-powered Touareg on sale in this country, and Audi has plans to increase its diesel range in Australia, so the chances are better than average that it will make it's way here from Western Europe.