Attention all property developers. Assuming that you have any money left at all, what with all the ‘bother’ in your industry, there is an outside chance that you might be interested in changing your car sometime soon. Chances are that you have a Range Rover, or perhaps, like the other half of people in your profession, you bought an Audi Q7. But up until now, you have probably been piddling around in your 3.0-litre TDi version – pish posh. Audi, always careful to care for the environment, has decided that the 3.0-litre diesel didn’t have enough power, and not even the 4.2-litre diesel would be sufficient. How about a 6.0-litre V12 diesel instead?
Yes, the folk in Ingolstadt have shoe-horned a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 into the Q7’s considerable engine bay. This motor is a derivative of the famous diesel that has been whipping the petrol cars at Le Mans for the last few years, and thanks to a newly developed common-rail injection system, this mammoth engine develops 500hp and – wait for it – 1,000Nm of torque. Put another way, this means that it has double the power and torque of the 3.0-litre TDi Q7. It’s like having two of those engines under the bonnet!
Not surprisingly, the performance figures are astonishing, especially when you remember that this is a vast, heavy SUV. The V12 Q7 can sprint to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds (which is about the same as a Porsche Boxster), and the top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h. Unrestrained, the engine would be good for around 330km/h.
Visually, this Q7 looks pretty similar to a standard version apart from some angry looking body adornments; most notable is a deep front spoiler that seems designed to inhale small children. More realistically, it will help keep this grunting, snorting monster on the tarmac. Inside, there are aluminium inlays in the door sills, the carpet is made of velour and there are splashes of carbon fibre throughout.
Moving off, right foot cocked, we hit the autobahn. Realistically, this is going to be one of the few places where you can fully explore the power of this version of the Q7 and damn, it is fast! There is a palpable tug in the bottom of your sternum when you put your foot to the board – it tugs at your soul. Thankfully, there are high-performance carbon fibre ceramic brakes as standard, and these do a decent job of preventing takeoff. Handling is not quite up there with the likes of the BMW X6, or even the Range Rover Sport, but it’s not bad for something this size.
This Q7 is very much a performance diesel and not an eco-friendly tree-hugger. Fuel consumption figures of 11.3l/100km aren’t that bad, but the CO2 figures of 298g/km don’t quite cover it in environmental glory. Expect the V12 Q7 to cost somewhere in the region of €140,000 when it comes to Ireland early next year.
Audi Q7 V12 TDi
Engine: 5,934cc V12 twin-turbo diesel
Output: 500hp, 1000Nm
Transmission: Six-speed tiptronic gearbox
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 5.5 seconds
Top speed: 250km/h (electronically limited)
Fuel economy: 11.3 litres/100km
CO2 emissions: 298g/km
CO2 Tax Band: G (€2,000p.a.)
Weight: N/a
Boot capacity: N/a
Base Price: €140,000 (estimated)
For: Huge performance
Against: But where can you use it all?
Rating: 7/10
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