What's this then?

This is the Audi Q7 e-tron, a plugin diesel hybrid version of Audi's big new SUV for which the German carmaker is claiming some pretty remarkable figures.

The central part of the Q7's plugin setup is a 258hp 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel engine. We're well familiar with it from other Audi models. That's now coupled to a 94kW disc-shaped electric motor fed by a stack of 17.3kWh lithium-ion batteries, which can be recharged from the mains.

Combined, the system has a total output of 373hp and 700Nm of torque. On a full charge, Audi claims that the Q7 e-tron can go for just over 30 miles before it runs its batteries flat, and that it has CO₂ emissions of just 50g/km. That full charge takes around two and a half hours from a three-phase power socket - more like four hours from a domestic socket.

Audi claims a combined full-fuel-tank and full-batteries range of more than 800 miles.

There are, as expected in a plugin vehicle, four driving modes - pure electric mode, normal hybrid mode, sports hybrid and an on-the-go charging function that tops up the batteries as you drive, before switching to electric power once you get into town.

Audi has also paid particular attention to refinement, so the suspension has been tweaked for extra comfort and quietness while active engine mounts help keep the diesel engine from making too much noise or vibration.

In spite of the lithium-ion battery stack, the boot remains pretty massive at 890 litres, while the cabin gets the same full-width TFT electronic instrument binnacle as the TT coupé.