Audi promises to please us with new products once every three weeks in 2018. Overall, the company has planned 17 premieres for this year. It has already been announced about the next generation A6 and first ever Q8. The yet-to-be-confirmed adjacent roadmap reveals the identity of three other models bound to show up within the next 11 months: A1 Sportback, SQ2, and Q3.
It is reported that the new A1 will not have an impractical three-door version and now this car will be sold exclusively in a five-door body. The production of the A1 will be transferred from Brussels to the SEAT plant in Martorell, Spain.
As for SQ2, this, of course, is a “charged” version of the Q2 crossover. Most likely, the new SUV will use the same turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine as the S3 Sportback and the S3 Sedan. If this is the case, then the SQ2 performance will be 300-310 hp. Like any other model from Audi Sport (except for the rear-wheel-drive R8 V10), the SQ2 is going to come as standard with Quattro.
Out of the three models mentioned in the yet unconfirmed road map, the most important is still Q3 for Audi. The updated crossover will ride on the MQB platform, will receive an evolutionary design and a wide range of four-cylinder and, possibly, three-cylinder engines (the latter, for example, can be used in the base model or for a rechargeable hybrid). Of course, an RS Q3 will likely arrive further down the line with the mighty five-cylinder engine.
In 2018, Audi also is planning to launch a fully electric e-tron crossover. In addition, there are good chances to see an entry-level R8 with a biturbo 2.9-liter V6 engine from the RS4 and RS5 this year.
Overall, Audi has a very busy schedule for this year, and we will for sure see at least one of Ingolstadt’s new products in a month at the Geneva Motor Show.
