Audi + Q7 + V12 TDI = 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds

[ahpadt]

http://drivers-republic.com/first_lo...37dea2a&page=1



Video review: http://drivers-republic.com/dr_tv/in...44&area=videos

Even Audi, perennial masters at contorting the real message through its extensive and clever public relations machine, had little to say about its new V12 SUV

They gave a small tech presentation in which an engineer opined that its diesel engine was perhaps 40 percent more efficient than any other car in its class and muttered something about Piezo injectors. But what he wanted to say, and what most of his colleagues ended up saying for the next 24 hours, was that it was the rudest SUV imaginable. Unnaturally fast for something that weighs 2605kg.

Let’s be straight here: the last time a motorcar was involved in a less politically correct context than this was when Prince Charles drove to an international climate change summit in his Aston Vantage Volante. If the Q7 V12 was just the wrong car at the wrong time then it would deserve criticism and derision. But in being so wrong, so hilariously off-the-eco-message, in a funny way it warrants closer attention.

This is the world’s first V12 diesel road car. Its 5934cc motor is based on the R10 racer’s and its vital stats make you chuckle at the brazen impropriety of such a beast. Audi claims 500bhp, but that is in fact a PS figure so it must be wound-back to a miserable 493bhp. Despite taking the latest 6 speed ZF automatic and uprating a good portion of its internals, it can still only handle 737.56lb ft of torque –which is a bit pathetic really. I mean, how’s a bloke supposed to survive on just 737lb ft of torque.

Turn the key, and this vast motor fires quickly and relatively smoothly. It isn’t anything like as silky as the best petrol V12s you find in plutocratic saloons, but the cabin is well isolated from the noise at idle. Roll the car forward though, and the moment you touch the gas pedal, a rather pleasing grumble filters through the front bulkead –the type of noise you might expect to be generated by the deep chest cavity of an especially large, un-amused grizzly bear.

Now this is both impressive and endearing, but all it takes is a few miles to realise that even when the throttle is merely being covered (and with this much thump, you just brush the thing to keep up with the traffic) that noise is always there. It’s not a nasty noise, but it is an ever-present thrum in what is otherwise a very refined machine.

The straight-line performance of this car is quite difficult to explain. The first thing to note is that all of the torque is available all of the time, in every gear. It never feels crazy-fast, but the instant delivery of all that roll-on performance means you forget just how big a truck it is. Audi claims a 5.5sec 0-62mph time, which I thought was ambitious, so I set up the old Dynolicious timer to see what she’d do. The results were fairly interesting. In one, slightly uphill run, carrying a passenger, it hit 60mph in 5.5sec and 100mph in 11.4sec. This means that between 60 and 100mph it is about as fast as the last RS4 and not far off the new RS6. It never feels that quick, partly because you sit so high. But each time you head out onto a straight road using part throttle, the speedo needle seems to hit 100mph in no time whatsoever. As a high performance experience, it slots into the ‘surreal’ category.

With a 100 litre tank and the promise of 15-20mpg, it has a far greater range than any other speedy-SUV and the cabin is both huge and very well finished. The flared front and rear arches (26mm and 30mm respectively) house, depending on your taste, 20 or 21 inch alloy wheels and both sizes give this truck enough grip to do the job. Of course, it’s too lumpy to be agile, but it does offer very impressive ride comfort, and that will be of far greater use to the estimated 40 owners that it will find in the UK each year. The cost of this machine? Just under a hundred grand. If I was going to have a dirty great big SUV and wave two-fingers at the eco-types, this would have to be the one.

Holy shit, that's scary fast for 2600kg!

[vikiradTG2007]

If the V12 TDI can shift that much mass that quickly, just imagine when they slot it into production in the back of the R8. Because it's basically the same engine as the R8 V12 TDI.


I just hope they made a gearbox that can handle all that torquey treatment.

[Dins]

It's a stupid vehicle, there is no arguing that.

But I can always imagine some Audi guys drunk at a pub laughing about the idea and then turning it into reality the next day.

V12s for everybody!

[smib]

Originally Posted by Dins

V12s for everybody!

[CrazyRussian540]

WOW... DO WANT

A SUV that does 0-60 in 5.5s.. and gets 20mpg....

[Brother Michael]

Originally Posted by Dins

It's a stupid vehicle, there is no arguing that.

Exactly what I thought, I could not possibly agree with you more.

And that is precisely why I love....no wait.....I adore this....this....thing, this beast. I don't like SUVs, I actually loath them.....I sort of like the Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne Turbo S just for their ludicrous speed the same way I like Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

But this.......damn. This is the first SUV ever made I would actually buy with my own money. Not because it is very sporty, certainly not because it is pretty. I would buy this only for one reason: the engine. Just think of the expression on the ecomentalisthippieplanteaters face when they come rambling to you about "It's bad and kills the planet maaaaaan, and dude it's like, you know bad for the appletrees and shit".

All you have to do is smile, no not smile just with a very self righteous and egoistic grin on your face tell him. "You know.....it IS a diesel"

And then take off in 5.5sec. Imagine the face on the hippie right at that moment:

[the Interceptor]

Yeah, nice car and all, and the best looking SUV if you ask me. But they forgot to tell a nastly little detail: the price. In Germany, it costs ...

















... wait for it ....















... 130,600 Euros.

To put that in perspective:

Audi RS6 Saloon Quattro: 105,550 Euros
Audi RS6 Avant Quattro: 107,800 Euros
Audi R8 (manual): 106,400 Euros

I mean okay, it's a high performance SUV. But 130k Euros ... come on Audi!

[marcos_eirik]

Originally Posted by CrazyRussian540

WOW... DO WANT

A SUV that does 0-60 in 5.5s.. and gets 20mpg....

Which despite the fact that it's a diseasel and has a skipload of torque, is just a full 1 (Yes one) MPG better than a Cayenne Turbo S, which runs on good old super unleaded...

And, baring in mind what the Interceptor just posted, the Cayenne Turbo S is about €20,000 less expensive.

[prizrak]

MWHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[watto]

Awesome! So if this ever comes down here it'll be about AUD300,000... :rollseyes:

[avanti]

I love Audi!

edit: I also love chris harris!

MINUS: Might get you lynched by poorer people.

[ahpadt]

Rofl, the torque curve is just a straight line...

[Vette Boss]

I just love the way this car pisses in the face of ecomentalists. They try and come up with an argument against it, but they can't. You'll be off and going 100mph before their shrunken veggie brains can think of anything to say.

[DTMracer]

Can I have that engine in an RS6 body? Please?

[cdbob]

God, that in the S6 car or the R8 would be fucking amazing. DO WANT!

[Wizegui]

Those figures are absolutely astonighing! It`s amazing that diesel engines are capable of these days! In the heavy Q7, it is very potent. In the R8, it would destroy many of the cars in it`s class. I`m not too keen on the huge air vent in the front bumpter though...

[fbc]

Mmmm so many torques.... which deserve a better home - like the A8 for instance.

[JipJopJones]

I'm sorry, but Audi has done a bad job of this.

If it's a performance SUV they are trying to make, they have failed. Sure, it looks ok. (it's a personal opinion thing.) But they have managed to make it slower than all the other performance SUV's except the Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged.

0-60
Jeep SRT8 4.9
Cayenne 5.0
Trailblazer SS 5.3

So audi... your bad. And that doesn't even factor in price.


PS. Don't give me "oh but the audi gets 20mpg..." because if you are in the market for a vehicle like this. MPG figures mean nothing to you.

[Peter3hg]

Originally Posted by JipJopJones

PS. Don't give me "oh but the audi gets 20mpg..." because if you are in the market for a vehicle like this. MPG figures mean nothing to you.

It's a perfectly valid reason. I know somebody who sold his AMV8 for the sole reason that it got such dismal mileage.
Also it's a hell of a lot heavier than the three you mentioned so it's very impressive that it's so close speed wise.

[klankymen]

You know what I wanna do with this car? Hear it. I never thought I'd say such a thing about a diesel engine....