Smallest Audi SUV shapes up

Audi would dearly love to have called its upcoming Q1 the Q2, in order to further differentiate the larger, more expensive SUV from its smallest passenger model, the A1.

So says a report by Automotive News Europe, which quotes an unnamed Audi source as saying the company would have paid Fiat Chrysler a "significant" amount of money for naming rights to the Q2 trademark owned by Alfa Romeo.

Audi development director Ulrich Hackenberg confirmed his preference for the Q2 name at this month's Detroit show.

"We are working on a small Q – we call it Q1 but the only reason is we don't own Q2, so from the positioning it will be '2' but from the name will be a '1'," Dr Hackenberg said. "We will bring such a car in the next two years."

The all-new Q1 compact crossover, pictured here in a new Automedia rendering, has been confirmed for production in Germany from early next year ahead of its global release around mid-2016.

That means it's highly likely to appear at least in concept form sometime this year – but it won't be at the Geneva show in March, when Audi will reserve its limelight for the second-generation R8 supercar.

Nor is it likely to debut at October's Frankfurt show, where Audi's vital new A4 is expected to make its global premiere.

Based on the Volkswagen group's MQB compact car component set, the five-door Q1 will be smaller than the Q3 but 10mm taller than the A3 with which it shares its platform and its four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines and front- and all-wheel drive layouts.

It will be the smallest of up to seven SUVs from the German luxury brand, which has announced plans to add 10 all-new models by 2020, by which time it expects to offer no fewer than 60 models.

However, Fiat will also prevent Audi from marketing an SUV called the Q4 – another trademark owned by Alfa – leaving it with significant holes in its Q-badged SUV line-up, which will eventually comprise Q1, Q3, Q5, Q7, Q6 and Q8 – but not Q2 or Q4.

Instead of Q4, Hackenberg confirmed Audi is likely to call the production version of its TT Offroad concept – which debuted at the 2014 Beijing show – the TT Q.

"The name 'four' is not owned by Audi. Q4 is owned by another company, Alfa, so we cannot use it," he said.

"So we look for another name, and TT is one possibility to give a name to the car. The TT is one possibility to give face to such a car.

"You see at the Beijing show the TT Q – that's one possibility which has to focus a car between Q3 and Q5."

For the record, Automotive News Europe said its source claimed Audi asked Fiat for permission to use the Q2 name but received no answer, but denied the company approached the Italian car-maker to use the Q4 name. For its part, Fiat Chrysler told ANE it received no approaches from Audi regarding naming rights.

While the Q1 will have no peer, the Q5-based TT Q will be a direct competitor for coupe-style mid-size SUVs such as the BMW X4 and upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.

Audi has confirmed it is working on a new SUV flagship based on the second-generation Q7 due on sale around mid-year, while a smaller and sportier Q7-based SUV would be a direct competitor for the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe.

"There is a space between 5 and 7, and maybe 8 [is] a possibility ... so we are very interested and intensive for such blanks. We could name it Q6 or Q8," said Hackenberg.

Certainly, compared to the likes of the GLE Coupe, Audi's boxy new Q7 appears to leave plenty of room for sleeker five-door SUVs to slot in either side, but Hackenberg suggested any sporty crossover from Audi would be more than a Q7 with a bent roof.

"We are following that with interest, but I think this production of what they are doing is not what we would do, so the proportion of our cars will be different [to GLE Coupe and X6]," he said.

"What they are doing with X5 is that they make the roof so it's like a coupe – that's not our way. We have other ideas. We are Audi.

"We want to grow, we don't want to replace – that's not the way. We are looking for new segments."