What's the news?
These official sketches from Audi preview the German company's centrepiece at the forthcoming Beijing Motor Show. We've not been told the name of the car, though it has got 'quattro' emblazoned across the back bumper. The styling borrows a lot from the new Audi TT, which leads to speculation that Audi is planning to add yet another Q model to its line-up.
There's nothing more than these teaser images at the moment, but recently Audi's R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg said the TT was a strong sub-brand of Audi and could potentially take more variants of body style, beyond the coupé and roadster versions we're already familiar with. Indeed, Audi used the unconventional allroad shooting brake concept to preview the TT at the Detroit show earlier this year, if you recall.
So, allow us some of our own conjecture here as we suggest if this Beijing concept is ever likely to go into production, it's highly likely to use the ubiquitous MQB platform and probably have some form of the EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine under the bonnet.
Anything else?
The Beijing show opens on April 20, when we'll find out more about this intriguing vehicle. When it comes to potential branding, it could be that the car would be called a TT allroad quattro, or it may be badged Q4 and slot in between existing SUV models in Audi's line-up. Look to BMW's recent X4 and possible X7 announcements for some indication of how Ingolstadt is thinking.
Matt Robinson - 10 Apr 2014