Overheat
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The Germans are coming over the hills! All the big prestige brands have a four-wheel-drive offering around the bend, some arriving as soon as January...
Audi Q7
These pictures of the Audi Q7 show an early development 'mule' out testing. As its name suggests, the Q7 is pitched between the A6 and A8 saloon ranges; Q is the latest Audi-speak for "off-roader." Developed from the Pikes Peak Quattro concept car, the seven-seater Q7 will have a conventional steel chassis and share some of its underpinnings with the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, though much of its componentry will be unique. The three cars will feature the same adaptive air suspension system, however. The Pikes Peak show car featured a 500bhp FSI direct-injection petrol engine - a version of the twin-turbo 4.2 V8 - though expect more conventional diesels for production as well. Styled by Walter De Silva, the aggressive-looking Q7 will be Audi's Range Rover Sport rival, and the company intends it to have a much greater impact than the minority-taste Allroad. It will go on sale in early 2006.
BMW X5
The large off-roader market sector is very image-conscious, and whilst the BMW X5 has long been the 4x4 to be seen in - never mind its off-road ability - the latest Range Rover, the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg have all tempted buyers away. With further upcoming new rivals - Range Rover Sport, Audi Q7 - BMW is to update the X5 in early 2006. The second-generation model will be larger and more versatile, with a seven-seater interior option; it will feature all-new suspension, revised diesel engines and new petrol V8s. It will continue to be made in Spartanburg, North Carolina.
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Here are the first pictures of the new M-Class which show it completely undisguised. This new-generation model will be unveiled to the world at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2005, with European sales following later in the year; expect RHD models in the autumn. The new M-Class will share its platform with the upcoming all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee, Mercedes' own R-Class luxury station wagon-4x4 crossover (developed from the GST concept car) and, controversially, the next-gen G-Class as well. All of these models have a car-like monocoque body structure rather than a traditional off-roader's separate ladder-frame chassis. Expect two distinct versions, a short-wheelbase five-seater and a longer-wheelbase seven-seat layout; both versions are considerably longer and wider than the current model. Equipment will include brake-by-wire as in the S- and SL-Class; adaptive air suspension will be offered with the more powerful models. Engines will range from a 170bhp V6 diesel to the 5.5-litre supercharged AMG V8.
Audi Q7
These pictures of the Audi Q7 show an early development 'mule' out testing. As its name suggests, the Q7 is pitched between the A6 and A8 saloon ranges; Q is the latest Audi-speak for "off-roader." Developed from the Pikes Peak Quattro concept car, the seven-seater Q7 will have a conventional steel chassis and share some of its underpinnings with the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, though much of its componentry will be unique. The three cars will feature the same adaptive air suspension system, however. The Pikes Peak show car featured a 500bhp FSI direct-injection petrol engine - a version of the twin-turbo 4.2 V8 - though expect more conventional diesels for production as well. Styled by Walter De Silva, the aggressive-looking Q7 will be Audi's Range Rover Sport rival, and the company intends it to have a much greater impact than the minority-taste Allroad. It will go on sale in early 2006.
BMW X5
The large off-roader market sector is very image-conscious, and whilst the BMW X5 has long been the 4x4 to be seen in - never mind its off-road ability - the latest Range Rover, the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg have all tempted buyers away. With further upcoming new rivals - Range Rover Sport, Audi Q7 - BMW is to update the X5 in early 2006. The second-generation model will be larger and more versatile, with a seven-seater interior option; it will feature all-new suspension, revised diesel engines and new petrol V8s. It will continue to be made in Spartanburg, North Carolina.
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Here are the first pictures of the new M-Class which show it completely undisguised. This new-generation model will be unveiled to the world at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2005, with European sales following later in the year; expect RHD models in the autumn. The new M-Class will share its platform with the upcoming all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee, Mercedes' own R-Class luxury station wagon-4x4 crossover (developed from the GST concept car) and, controversially, the next-gen G-Class as well. All of these models have a car-like monocoque body structure rather than a traditional off-roader's separate ladder-frame chassis. Expect two distinct versions, a short-wheelbase five-seater and a longer-wheelbase seven-seat layout; both versions are considerably longer and wider than the current model. Equipment will include brake-by-wire as in the S- and SL-Class; adaptive air suspension will be offered with the more powerful models. Engines will range from a 170bhp V6 diesel to the 5.5-litre supercharged AMG V8.
