The new Q9 SUV will serve as an indirect successor to the A8 limousine as Audi’s luxury flagship when it arrives later this year.
The new model, already spied testing but officially announced during Audi’s annual media conference, will be the German firm’s largest and most luxurious model to date.
Sitting above the Q7 in Audi’s SUV line-up, it will be offered as a seven-seater or with a six-seat layout featuring luxurious separate rear seats.
The Q9’s focus on rear passenger comfort is intended to help it take on the role of the A8 – which has just gone out of production – as an upmarket executive car.
It’s primarily focused on the American, Chinese and Middle Eastern markets but will be offered in the UK too.
“The Audi Q9 will be the new flagship of the Audi portfolio,” said CEO Gernot Döllner. “This is a particularly important model for the US.”
Audi has given few technical details of the Q9 yet, but spy shots show that it will have a large bonnet and a big new version of Audi’s ‘single-frame’ grille.
It’s believed to be based on an extended version of the Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) platform and will offer a range of powertrains, likely including a twin-turbo 4.0-litre petrol V8 in the flagship SQ9.
The Q9 will also form the basis of sibling brand Porsche’s flagship SUV, codenamed K1. That car, tentatively scheduled for a UK launch in 2028, is expected to be built on the same line at the Volkswagen Group’s factory in Bratislava, Slovakia.