This Is The Next Best Thing To An Audi RS Q5

Why wait for the Audi RS Q5 to arrive when you can have this 425-hp Q5 tuned by ABT?

It’s no secret that Audi Sport wants to double its range of hardcore RS models. By 2020, the performance division intents to have 16 cars in its line-up by 2020, many of which will apparently be SUVs. One of those models is likely to be a RS Q5. While the first generation of Audi’s Q5 crossover didn’t get the hardcore RS treatment, an RS Q5 based on the new generation model is expected to arrive arrive in 2018, rumored to pack the same 444-hp twin turbo V6 as the RS5 coupe.

If you can’t wait for it to launch, German tuner ABT has released a new tuning package for the Q5 that looks like the next best thing to an official RS model. For the range-topping SQ5, the tuner cranks up the crossover’s horsepower and dresses it in an aggressive widebody kit. The turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 now develops a hefty 425-hp and 405 lb-ft of torque, up from the 354-horsepower and 369 lb-ft you get in the standard SQ5. If that output sounds familiar, ABT’s tuned Audi S5 Coupe and Cabriolet models share the same upgrade. Elsewhere, the styling has been given an aggressive makeover, with a front bumper featuring larger vents, larger side skirts, and a sporty roof-mounted spoiler.

The grille has also been blacked out to give the crossover a more menacing look, and the front fenders are adorned with carbon fiber trim. Ride height has been lowered, and tuner has fitted a bespoke set of 20-inch alloys. The fake exhaust tips aren’t the SQ5’s best asset, but ABT has thankfully replaced them with real ones integrated to a rear diffuser.