Watch $266,330 Audi SQ7 By ABT Detailed On Video

Holy Mother of the Diesel God: 1,038 Nm!
With a monstrous 435 horsepower (320 kilowatts) and 900 Newton-meters (664 pound-feet) of torque on tap, the Audi SQ7 TDI is the most powerful diesel SUV money can buy. You can have the same TDI 4.0-liter engine in the much more expensive Bentley Bentayga Diesel and in both cases the mountain-moving amount of torque is available from an impressively low 1,000 rpm.

But the tuners at ABT weren’t entirely satisfied with the engine’s stock output and decided a while back to work on the diesel monster to extract even more power from the V8 fitted with an electric-powered compressor. With the ABT Power S kit included, the biggest SUV from Audi can churn a whopping 520 hp (382 kW) and 970 Nm (715 lb-ft). The extra diesel muscle coming from the upgraded engine has slashed two tenths of a second from the sprint to 62 mph (100 kph), which now takes just 4.6 seconds. Top speed continues to be electronically governed at 155 mph (250 kph).

What we have here isn’t an ordinary Audi SQ7 upgraded by ABT as it’s in fact a one-of-ten limited edition SUV fitted with Vossen forged wheels and wearing a matte blue body wrap. YouTube’s charismatic Marchettino had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the diesel luxobarge to find out what it’s like to have so much torque at the driver’s disposal. Speaking of which, that particular vehicle had even more torque – an incredible 1,038 Nm (765 lb-ft).

For a diesel, the souped-up Q7 optimized by ABT sounds pretty sweet, but truth be told there’s a sound generator sending fake noise through the cabin. While a TDI badge usually equates to low fuel consumption, it’s not the case here. During the test conducted by Marchettino, the high-revving and thirsty V8 consumed on average 20 liters / 100 km, which works out to just 11.7 miles per gallon. I guess that’s the price to pay for having a four-digit amount of torque.

Then there’s the price: €216,000 or about $266,330 at current exchange rates. For that kind of money, one could buy an R8 RWS ($140,000), a TT RS ($64,900), and an RS3 Sedan ($54,900), and you’d still have roughly $6,500 for gas.

Article by: ADRIAN PADEANU / motor1.com