Having unveiled the Q3 Vail Concept - a compact SUV aimed at extreme kayakers - in Detroit, Audi is at it again in Beijing. As the name suggests (stick with me) the Q3 Jinlong Yufeng - meaning Golden Dragon in the Wind - is a Chinese market specific concept car, inspired by the Chinese national pastime of kite-flying, or to be more specific, kitesurfing.

Mounted to the roof of the concept is a pair of carbon fibre reinforced polymer kiteboards while a specially designed boot liner contains the kites themselves. When not used for storing kites the boot liner can also act as a sun umbrella or seat cover - perfect when you emerge wet from the sea after a round of kitesurfing and don't want to get your seats wet.

Also stored in the boot are two rugged 'Audi Cams' that can be mounted to the sail bar of the kitesurf with pictures transmitted back to the car via a WLAN router connection and onwards through the built-in Bluetooth connection.

As is befitting a car aimed at extreme kiters the Q3 Jinlong Yufeng is powered by Audi's 310hp 2.5-litre TFSI engine. Mated to a quattro four-wheel drive system and a seven-speed S tronic transmission, the five-cylinder unit possesses enough grunt to propel the Golden Dragon from 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds.

Finished in Liuli Yellow, a luminous monochrome colour that 'expresses a zest for life and high energy', the Audi Q3 Jinlong Yufeng is adorned with many body parts that are available off the shelf from Audi.

Paul Healy - 24 Apr 2012