SPY PICS: New Audi Q7 almost naked

Here is the best look yet at Audi's new Q7, which will make its global premiere at the Detroit motor show in January before going on sale in Australia late next year.

Apart from debuting Audi's first diesel-electric hybrid system and its first six-cylinder plug-in 'e-tron' powertrain, the second-generation Q7 will also be available with full-LED Matrix headlights.

While the new Q7 prototypes spied previously wore xenon gas-discharge headlights, which will be standard, these almost-undisguised pre-production models can clearly be seen with more advanced LED headlights, which will be an option in Europe for around 200 Euros ($A285). 

Audi's LED headlights made their debut last year on the facelifted A8 and were soon after added on the A6 and A7, featuring separate diodes that can be individually controlled to maximise visibility without blinding oncoming traffic.

Our spy photos suggest the LED headlights on the Q7 are a little different to the ones on the sedan and Sportback models. There's only one lens for low beam and three for high beam, separated by a vertical line of white lights forming the daytime running lamps.

These latest spy images also show the more car-like stance of the MkII Q7, which is expected to be smaller on the outside, bigger on the inside and up to 300kg lighter than the nine-year-old SUV it replaces.

The current Q7 range weighs between 2375 and 2515kg, and measures some 5063mm long, so its successor should be closer to two tonnes in weight and five metres in length.

Looking more like an A6 wagon or Allroad model than Audi's original seven-seat SUV, the less bulky looking Q7 will also wear the German brand's latest design language, highlighted by a new hexagonal-shaped grille that connects with the headlights.

The engine line-up should echo that of the latest A7 and A8, including 184kW/550Nm and 230kW/650Nm 3.0-litre and 258kW/600Nm 4.2-litre TDI diesels, but there's unlikely to be a supercharged petrol V6 option.

An SQ7 sports variant is also planned, to rival the BMW X5 M50d, perhaps powered by the 283kW/750Nm tri-turbo diesel six from the RS 5 TDI Concept, and there could also be an RS Q7 super-SUV to tackle the X5 M and Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG, potentially powered by the twin-turbo 4.0-litre petrol V8 from the S7 and S8.

However, neither sports model – nor the circa-275kW/700Nm Q7 TDI e-tron – will be available from launch.