Audi SQ7 and SQ8 DUMP diesel for a 500bhp petrol V8

The Audi SQ7 and SQ8 – Audi’s big performance SUVS – are no longer diesel-engined, with Audi replacing the V8 diesel with a 500bhp V8 petrol.

Big, torquey diesel engines, whatever your view on modern diesels, are a perfect recipe for a big, grunty SUV, which is why, despite growing loathing for oil-burning engines, Audi’s big performance SUVs – the Audi SQ7 and SQ8 – have a V8 diesel delivering 429bhp and a whopping 663lb/ft of torque to deliver real grunt. But no more.

Audi has decided to bow to a market which is currently demonising diesels – even the latest, very clean diesels – and have dumped the big V8 diesel in the SQ7 and SQ8 and replaced it with a big petrol V8. 

The new twin-turbo 4.0 litre V8 gets a useful 500bhp – up 71bhp on the diesel – but its torque is a chunk down at 568lb/ft, with the V8 getting both big SUVs to 62mph in 4.1 seconds – more than half a second quicker than the diesel versions.

But there’s no 48v mild-hybrid help with the new petrol V8, although the new engine does come with cylinder on demand to shut down one bank when you’re cruising. But despite that it’s certain the official economy will have deteriorated somewhat (Audi aren’t saying yet). As well as the new engine, Audi is now throwing in four-wheel steering as standard.

The new petrol V8 SQ7 and SQ8 will be available from the autumn in the UK, with Audi saying they’ll cost ‘around’ £78,000 and £83,000 respectively, around £1,700 more than the current TDI.