The unexpected success of the BMW X6 has opened a new niche in the automobile market. According to a report by AutoWeek, the Coupe Crossover segment will get a new contender. Audi is rumored to have kicked off development of a new performance-orientated crossover model to directly counter the BMW X6.
As expected, the naming convention is Q6 and it will sit between the Q5 and Q7 models. The five-seat crossover is rumored to be based around the same all-wheel-drive underpinnings as the second-generation Volkswagen Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne, both of which use a short-wheelbase version of the Colorado platform, used in the Q7 in long-wheelbase format.
Rendering
No official information have been revealed at this point, but in an interview with the German media at the Geneva motor show, Audi boss Rupert Stadler alluded to the crossover, saying, “We can imagine a model between the Q5 and the Q7 . . . a coupelike, four-wheel-driven model.”Same magazine reports that Audi’s decision to add the Q6 to its lineup comes after lobbying calls from its North American and Chinese subsidiaries for a standard-size SUV to counter the BMW X6.
In 2010, BMW reported that its X6 sales have doubled compared to the previous year.
A bit early to speculate on the Q6 variant, but we would expect to see a wide range of gasoline and diesel engines, along with a hybrid option.
[Source: AutoWeek ]
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/03/18/audi- ... th-bmw-x6/