The Audi Q8 concept has been revealed at the Detroit Motor Show offering, says Audi “offering an elegant alternative to the classic design of the full-size class”.

THE NEAR PRODUCTION-READY Audi Q8 concept was revealed today at the Detroit Motor Show. The production version arrives next year (2018). The Q8 will run a 330kW and 700Nm plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

“The Q8 concept is an Audi in peak form. It demonstrates the strengths of our brand in both technology and design while providing a glimpse at a future full-size, production SUV,” said Dietmar Voggenreiter, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG.

“With its next-generation display and control solutions, we are enabling customers to experience connectivity in a whole new way.” 

While the exterior offers a coupe-like profile, it’s the six-blade single-frame grille that draws your eye. And not necessarily in a good way… Audi waxes lyrical in its reveal of the Q8 about the design, but I’ll leave it for you to decide what you think.

The concept cops 305/35-series tyres on the 11J x 23 wheels. The five intertwining Y spokes project a filigreed, three-dimensional and powerful image. Ceramic brake discs measuring 20 inches in diameter ensure the Q8 concept can be stopped.

On the inside, the Q8 concept is a four-seater offering a 630-litre boot. The centre console, says Audi, resembles the stern of a yacht, while the dashboard is of a typical wrap-around design. As in current models, the infotainment and communications screen slides up out of the dashboard and hides away again when the car is switched off.

The Q8 concept features Audi’s virtual cockpit which displays via a 12.3-inch screen behind the steering wheel where you’d normally expect to see the analogue gauges. The MMI controller is the same as that in current Audi models.

The petrol engine is a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder that’s mated to an electric motor and eight-speed automatic transmission for a total system output of 330kW and 700Nm of torque. This is enough to get the Q8 to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds and it emits 53grams of CO2 per kilometre. Travelling on battery power alone is enough for more than 60 kilometres. A full charge takes two and a half hours.

The performance of the hybrid system operates the same was at the A3 e-tron we tested last year, so click the link and read that story for more detail. But, in a nutshell you can either set the system to run on pure battery and then switch to petrol once the battery is depleted, or you can set it to charge the battery while running on petrol, or run on battery but use the petrol engine to maintain the charge.

The Q8 concept gets quattro all-wheel drive as well adaptive air suspension which offers active damping and two levels of ground clearance with up to 90mm of difference between the two.

Question: What do you think? Are we just pushing the whole SUV thing a little too far now, or has BMW’s X6 set a precedent for coupe-like SUVs?