NEXT-GENERATION AUDI Q7 HIDES ITS SECRETS UNDER OLD BODY

CarBuzz spy photographers have snapped images of what appears to be a current-generation Audi Q7 undergoing testing, and they have revealed that the all-new model is getting substantial changes. The current Q7 has been on sale for several years and got its last refresh in 2020, but we're expecting a second facelift to arrive at dealers in the first half of next year. But that will still be a car that originally debuted in 2015.

Thus, Audi is hard at work on the third-generation Q7, using a second-generation body to hide a new platform, and that's the car we see here. Well, kinda new. The MLB Evo platform that underpins the new Porsche Cayenne has been comprehensively updated for the future, bridging the gap between the combustion cars of today and the all-new EVs that will inevitably replace them towards the end of the decade.

Obviously, this means that these images provide us with no clues about the new model's exterior styling, but we do get a peek at the cabin. This is still far from production-ready, but it does show that Audi wants at least two screens in the cabin.

Under the skin, we're expecting both mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants to be offered, and there are rumblings that the long-rumored Q9 will finally arrive soon after the new Q7, using the same underpinnings but offering three rows of seating with even more room than the cramped third-row accommodation of the Q7. Neither of these is likely to go all-electric for some time, as even-numbered models will serve that purpose.

In the meantime, the refreshed Q7 we get next year will offer all-new Matrix LED headlights with customizable lighting signatures. These just debuted on the Q8 and its SQ8 sibling, the latter of which we just drove.

This is our first sighting of the all-new Q7, which means that we have a long way to go before more information becomes available. Given how these things usually play out, we can expect to see the actual shape of the new prototype undergoing testing over the first half of next year, at around the same time the final facelift of the current model reaches dealers. Given that timeline of events, the all-new model's debut will likely only arrive at the end of 2025. An electric A4 is also likely to break cover around that time.

In the meantime, Audi will be rolling out a refreshed Q5 in the coming days.

This article originally appeared on CarBuzz: Next-Generation Audi Q7 Hides Its Secrets Under Old Body

2023-11-16T22:16:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd