DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Audi reveals 250km/h SQ5

Audi has pulled the wraps off a hard-hitting 260kW version of its all-new Q5 crossover SUV.

And, unlike Audi SUVs of the past, the SQ5 will favour oversteer over understeer thanks to a trick new centre differential.

Audi claims the mid-size luxury SUV will punch to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds on its way to an artificial top speed of 250km/h while displaying civilised road manners most of the time.

The new warmed-up SUV is 4671mm long, 1893mm wide and 1635mm high, with seating for five and a 2824mm wheelbase. At 1995kg, the thing is still two tonnes, but Audi suggests it should be patted on the back for making it 35kg lighter than the old one.

Unlike the upcoming RS 4 and the yet-to-be-confirmed RS Q5, the SQ5 will use Audi’s in-house 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine, rather than the Porsche-developed 2.9-litre V6.

While the two engines are worlds apart in philosophy but a handful of cubic centimetres different in capacity, the SQ5’s motor uses a twin-scroll turbocharger (the smaller V6, dubbed KoVoMo, uses a pair of turbochargers and aims to take the place of Audi’s outgoing 4.2-litre V8 engines).

The SQ5’s longer-stroke 2995cc V6 has been given a higher compression ratio and higher fuel injection pressures to pump up the output to 500Nm of torque from just 1370rpm all the way through to 4500rpm. It still delivers an NEDC figure of 8.3L/100km, while its 189g/km CO2 figure is 13 grams fewer than its predecessor.

It uses a development of the Atkinson Cycle variable compression system, which Audi dubs B Cycle, to give it a power stroke that is relatively longer than the compression stroke, giving it fuel savings and increased torque at part loads. It reverts to normal operation under heavy feet.

The 172kg engine is 14kg lighter than the supercharged V6 in its predecessor, which Audi insists helps both economy and handling, lowering the weight over the front axle.

Its eight-speed automatic transmission feeds into an all-wheel drive system that’s constantly variable, but prefers to send the lion’s share of the torque to the rear-end as often as possible.

Its optional sport differential, derived from the unit in the larger SQ7, can be asked to send more torque to the outside rear wheel to counter understeer (which, by definition is promoting oversteer).

It uses a set of six-piston brake callipers chew on 350mm discs at the front-end, while it carries over the core architecture of the new Q5’s five-link rear suspension system and sits on standard 20-inch wheels and 225/45 tyres.

There is electro-mechanical steering, though there’s an optional dynamic system that adjusts the ratio with speed, while the optional air suspension also adjusts the car’s ride height depending on the speed or the driver’s choice.

It scores the full array of Q5 driver assistance systems, like active cruise control, active lane assist, the lazy-man traffic jam assist, an auto-parking function and autonomous braking.

It also gets the 8.3-inch multimedia touch-screen as standard equipment, along with gesture control and LTE internet connectivity.