Audi SQ7 to feature high-tech induction

Expect a V8 turbo-diesel and a pair of supplementary electric turbos on the 2016 Audi SQ7.

Audi's technical director, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, has confirmed there will be a new SQ7 sitting at the top of the newly minted Q7 SUV (pictured) range and he's also confirmed it will get Audi's new boosting technology.

It will take its lead from the two electric "turbo" concepts Audi demonstrated midway through last year, the single-turbo A6 TDI concept and the biturbo RS 5 TDI concept.

Dr Hackenberg has confirmed the SQ7 will get "e-boost" electric turbos and though he refused to deliver details, he hinted it would probably get two of them.

He also hinted that the engine would probably be based around Audi's trusty, existing 4.2-litre TDI V8 (also used in the Porsche Cayenne Diesel S), though it might have its capacity shrunk to 4.0 litres.

The electric "turbos" are not "turbos" in the traditional mechanical sense, but are used to spin up the mechanical turbochargers instantly to force air into the cylinders before the exhaust gases arrive at higher revs. Once those exhaust gases are on station to do their normal work, the electric "turbos" are bypassed and the mechanical units take over.

Power output would also be considerable, making the SQ7 a heavy hitter in the world of the fast diesel SUV and providing a genuine threat to the triple-turbo BMW X5 550d from M Performance Automobiles.

Even in the most basic of the concept cars, the A6 TDI concept's electric turbo helped the 3.0-litre V6 slash its 60-120km/h sprint time from 13.7 to 8.3 seconds.

It also delivered 240kW of power and 650Nm of torque, with the electric turbo itself having up to 7kW of power available to it to turn the compressor wheel of the mechanical turbo, with response times of 250 milliseconds.

The RS 5 TDI concept, which runs a layout most likely to be the one followed by the SQ7, offers sequential electric "turbos" and a 0-100km/h time of 4.0 seconds.

It helped lift the 3.0-litre TDI V6 to peak power of 283kW, with 750Nm of torque available from just 1250rpm.

Extrapolate that out to a 4.0-litre or 4.2-litre V8 and you've got performance figures closer to 350kW of power and close to 1000Nm of torque. More than enough to call the SQ7 a performance SUV.