It wasn’t all that difficult in the past. On the badge you could see exactly what the engine size was and whether it was a diesel or petrol engine. Then the turbos came and suddenly there were different powers for the same engine size. When the PHEVs and the EVs came, it was all over. To make it even more confusing, the Audi e-tron is now called Audi Q8 e-tron.
Until today, the Audi Q8 was the slightly sportier and slightly less practical brother of the Q7. You could only order these with a petrol or diesel engine. The Audi e-tron was just an electric SUV. But since the introduction of Audi’s first EV, ‘e-tron’ has become more of an addition to EVs – just look at the Audi Q4 e-tron. No, no one really saw that that would get confusing at a good time. Annoyingly enough, ‘e-tron’ is in the middle of the Audi e-tron GT, but that is aside. The plug-in hybrids are now called ‘TFSI e’.
Why not an Audi Q7 e-tron?
Want it just a little more confusing? If you ask us, the normal Q8 e-tron should actually be called the Q7 e-tron. Then they could just call the version with the sloping roofline Q8, instead of Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron.
What – sincerely – is a lot more understandable, is the name of the sporty models. The faster versions are now called Audi SQ8 e-tron and Audi SQ8 Sportback e-tron. And no, there is no Audi RS Q8 e-tron yet. The other versions get the usual random numbers in the name to indicate the ranking in terms of power, so Audi Q8 55 e-tron and Q8 50 e-tron.
Specifications Audi Q8 e-tron and SQ8 e-tron
The name change does not come out of the blue, because today Audi shows the renewed versions of the SUV. These are slightly modified on the outside and drive a little further on a load. The Q8 e-tron 50 gets 340 hp and 664 Nm and now gets about 500 kilometers. The 55 gets the same torque, but 408 horsepower – also from two electric motors – and gets about 600 kilometers before it needs to be recharged.
The Audi SQ8 gets 500 hp and 973 Nm. This power comes from three electric motors. If you take it easy, you should be able to cover about 500 kilometers on one battery charge. The top speed is 210 km/h. The battery of the SQ8 and 55 measures 106 kWh and that of the entry-level is 89 kWh. This is slightly more (net capacity) than the outgoing model.
Furthermore, the body of the Audi Q8 e-tron is slightly more aerodynamic than that of the first e-tron and can be loaded faster. The electric motors are also more efficient and the chassis and the software that controls it are optimized for better road holding. The prices for the Netherlands will be announced at a later stage.
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