Audi urbansphere should rub off on the 2026 Audi Q8 e-tron [Update]

Update: ‘Audi urbansphere concept’ section updated.

In June 2021, German media reports said that a secret all-electric Audi Q8 e-tron existed at the far end of the company’s product roadmap. The next month, Audi revealed the plan for three Audi Sphere concepts, including an Audi urbansphere concept, which could be related to the Q8 e-tron. Subsequent developments have confirmed that the company will launch a Q8 e-tron.

Audi’s triple header

Between November 2014 and April 2015, Audi unveiled three concepts that became the inspiration for current models one way or the other. First, there was the Audi prologue two-door coupe in November 2014, the Audi prologue Avant in March 2015, and later the Audi prologue all road in April 2015. Likewise, the family of ‘sphere’ concepts previews the future of Audi design this decade: the Audi skysphere, the Audi grandsphere, and the Audi urbansphere.

Audi urbansphere concept

The Audi urbansphere concept will influence the design of the next-gen Audi electric SUVs. Image Source: Audi

The teaser above shows that the Audi urbansphere concept will be a wagon-like SUV akin to the Volvo Recharge Concept. It could form the design inspiration for future Audi electric SUVs and spawn the company’s Tesla Model X rival. The next-gen Audi Q8 (Audi Q8 e-tron) could feature a concave nose, a lower and shorter hood, shorter overhangs, and a sleeker greenhouse similar to this concept.

The teaser of the Audi urbansphere concept reveals its short and low hood, the forward-positioned A-pillar, opposing doors, and a sloping roofline. We see ample legroom for both front and rear occupants inside.

Audi created the urbansphere concept for long-distance travel, and the passengers’ needs and quality of experience were the top priority while finalizing the design specifications. Unlike the Audi AI:CON or AI:ME concepts, the urbansphere won’t be a time traveler from the distant future. It will present a product line, technologies, and interior that could become a reality in the mid-2020s.

The Audi urbansphere concept will debut on April 19, 2022.

Audi Q8 e-tron interior

In addition to a dramatic exterior, the Audi Q8 e-tron will likely boast a clean interior with a slimmer dashboard, a large central screen instead of two separate displays, and a detached center console with more storage space. With the SSP platform underpinning the electric SUV, we expect a longer wheelbase (first-gen Audi Q8: 117.9 inches), a flat floor, and a more spacious cabin than the first-gen model.

Expecting to offer level 4 autonomous driving either at launch or in the future, Audi will likely design the interior with a greater focus on digitalization and comfort. By the second half of the decade, the interior should become the core of new vehicle design in luxury car segments, and so Audi is working on a new overall car concept.

Audi Q8 e-tron specifications

While it’s early to detail the Audi Q8 e-tron specifications, we expect a 100 kWh or a higher capacity battery pack in the top-end configuration that allows a WLTP range of more than 600 km (373 miles), given the possibilities that Audi has shown with the A6 e-tron and Audi A6 Avant e-tron concepts. Moreover, the release date is about five years away, and EV technologies would improve considerably. The charging rate, for instance, could go up from 270 kW to 350 kW, allowing customers to charge the battery pack from 5 to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes.

Audi Q8 e-tron to be manufactured in Brussels

Pictured is an unofficial render of an autonomous future urban Audi crossover by Jung Kim via Behance.

On November 10, 2021, Audi finally confirmed that a new Q8 e-tron is in the pipeline. The Audi Brussels plant rolled out its eight millionth vehicle, and to celebrate the milestone, Erik Prieels, the Director General for Human Resources of Audi Brussels, said that the Belgian factory will manufacture a Q8 e-tron. “It couldn’t have been a better day like this to announce our successor: the Q8-etron,” Prieels said on LinkedIn.

Following the production milestone, Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi, spoke to the Belgian channel RTL Info about the future of the Audi Brussels plant. Duesmann also confirmed that Audi would launch a Q8 e-tron made at this factory in that conversation.

Due to this experience (with the e-tron series) we do have, the next car we will be producing, it will be the Q8 e-tron, and it’s also an electric car.

Markus Duesmann, CEO, Audi (to RTL Info on November 10, 2021)

Release Date

On December 13, 2021, Volkswagen Group CEO Dr. Herbert Diess announced the Q8 e-tron. Dr. Diess was delivering a speech at the company’s Supervisory Board meeting, in which he said:

We are realizing synergies with two Porsche models, and PPE toolkits in the premium sector. Neckarsulm will be electrified. We are preparing the Audi vehicle family E6 and the successor generation. The electrified plant in Brussels from 2026 will be making the Audi Q8 e-tron on the Iberian Peninsula from 2025 and the multi-brand factory in Martorell will intend to manufacture compact e-vehicles and in Pamplona, e-vehicles of the SUV class. The fund decision depends on the general framework conditions and state subsidies.

Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO, Volkswagen Group (Supervisory Board meeting on December 9, 2021)

Is the Q8 e-tron the Audi Apollon?

One cannot rule out the possibility that the Audi Q8 e-tron is the rumored Audi Apollon SUV. The year of SOP suggests that it would be a large model on the next-gen SSP platform.

We’ll update this page when new model information is available.

Featured Image Source: LinkedIn/Audi

Keyword: Audi urbansphere should rub off on the 2026 Audi Q8 e-tron [Update]