The Audi Nanuk Quattro Concept has blazed a trail at the Frankfurt International Motor Show and it strives to prove that all SUVs don’t need to be big, ugly, heavy, impractical, compromised modes of transport. Audi see their Audi Nanuk Quattro Concept as the car that would result if an all-terrain supercar were possible.
Of course, it’s unlikely such an Audi will ever actually make it into production (although they said that about the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet and that ended up on the road), but Audi do have a peculiar habit of taking their concept cars pretty seriously, resulting in the majority of them showcasing future technologies and styling. The Audi Le Mans comes to mind as the concept that became the Audi R8 and Audi Nuviolari that became the Audi A5.
The Audi Nanuk Quattro Concept seems set to follow suit and previews a fresh design language from Ingolstadt. Audi say it “combines the dynamics of a high-performance sports car with Audi’s quattro expertise on the road, on the race track and off-road.” If we read between the lines correctly, we think we might be seeing the first makings of a new Audi Q7 style-line.
Powered by a mid-mounted (take the mid-ship part with a pinch of salt), twin-turbocharged 5.0-litre V10 TDI diesel engine that develops close to 400 kW and 1 000 Nm of torque, the V10 makes use of a 7-speed S tronic gearbox and powers all four wheels. The Nanuk is built from lightweight aluminium and carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP), and it rides on 22-inch alloy wheels that hide carbon-ceramic brakes.
The Nanuk has been developed in collaboration with designers from Italdesign Giugiaro and it bears some resemblance to the Parcour Concept we saw at the Geneva Motor Show this year. The showcar is 4.5 m long, 1.9 m wide, 1.3 m tall and has a wheelbase of 2.7 m. That makes it shorter than an Audi Q5, wider than a Q7 and only slightly taller than an R8 sports car. Audi say it weighs less than 2 tons and will sprint to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds before topping out at 300 km/h.
What the concept does showcase is Audi’s intention to introduce a new modular diesel engine family and the engine will have 6-, 8- and 10-cylinder iterations. It also features a signature single-frame Audi grille, but one that’s much more hexagonal and sharper than on current Audis. We look forward to where the Audi Nanuk Quattro Concept takes the brand.
