V12 6.0l 1000 Nm off-roader - Q7 TDI

[Jun 233]

Anyone looking at this potential monster?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/audi/q7/listing/3145186845

We have a V8 Cayenne, they are great cars both on and off-road.  I guess V12 is a natural addition for V8 and V10 cars 

This truck even has carbon ceramic brakes.  I think the issue with this truck will be the servicing.  V10 6.0 engine, tranny, etc I am unsure who will be interested in serving this.  Q7 is Cayenne sister car, but longer wheelbase.  That means maybe some of the Cayenne off-road mods will work.  However it will have to run 20" wheels to fit the large front disks.  But there are now lots of 285/50R20 A/T tires now.

Recovering a Land Cruiser with 1000 Nm diesel torque Audi will be a ridiculous scenario.

[gjm 3258]

Advert blurb copy'n'pasted from the Car and Driver review! No sense reinventing the wheel, I guess...

Regardless of the suitability of such a lump in a so-called offroader (SUV tax, anyone? ) it is hugely impressive.

[Michael. 2313]

Epic

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

A few years back I pulled one out of a paddock that got stuck on nothing more than wet pasture. Any off road fun will certainly warrant better tires, which will in turn render it helpless back on tarmac...

[balancerider 758]

Prepare for face-melting bills (to go with the face-melting torque) when the engine ancillaries are borked. I think if it's anything like the Touareg V10 TDI, pretty much all work is an engine-out job...

Pretty awesome bit of engineering nonetheless

[Jun 233]

1 hour ago, Young Thrash Driver said:

A few years back I pulled one out of a paddock that got stuck on nothing more than wet pasture. Any off road fun will certainly warrant better tires, which will in turn render it helpless back on tarmac...

Gen1 Cayenne, Touareg and smaller extend Q7 (longer wheelbase) is actually very good off-road.  Gen1 had proper low gear transfer cases.  With very little mods, proper tires and small lift kit makes them really good.  Although I haven't use our Cayenne is really hard tracks, just the minor ones it does better than our stock Prado.

Here is a 2-inch lift and 35" tires only mod Cayenne S, no other mods.  There are also Cayenne's with rare optioned out rear-lockers and detachable sway bars, only 1 in NZ.  Although I doubt the Q7 will have rear lockers, however the TDI will more than make up for it.

 

[Jun 233]

1 hour ago, balancerider said:

Prepare for face-melting bills (to go with the face-melting torque) when the engine ancillaries are borked. I think if it's anything like the Touareg V10 TDI, pretty much all work is an engine-out job...

Pretty awesome bit of engineering nonetheless

Yes I though the V10 Touareg was already a bad headache, hence I gone for the slightly less headache V8 Cayenne.  What I didn't realize is that Q7 had a V12 TDI, I didn't know about this Q7 until about a few weeks ago.  But I think Q7 V12 would be the ultimate money pit.

[TermiPeteNZ 1319]

That's a beast for sure, but too nice to take off road

[Driftit 2079]

Here is an Audi with all the bells and whistles.  And an interior from the base model A4 with what looks like leather seat covers (I know they are not)....

Edited June 28, 2021 by Driftit

[freaknout 47]

Dent in the rear diffuser. Not for me I'm afraid 😁

[Olaf 3320]

@Jun surely where there's real off-road challenge, you can take your Toyota there with great impunity and comfort that nothing complex will break, that anything you dent will be relatively inexpensive to repair, and getting yanked on a snatch-strap is less likely to damage any expensive German executive SUV?

Notwithstanding your Cayenne is very capable off-road (and a very nice place to be with those awesome seats), but the Prado (or any Landcruiser) surely has less 'pucker factor'.

[Jun 233]

19 minutes ago, Olaf said:

@Jun surely where there's real off-road challenge, you can take your Toyota there with great impunity and comfort that nothing complex will break, that anything you dent will be relatively inexpensive to repair, and getting yanked on a snatch-strap is less likely to damage any expensive German executive SUV?

Notwithstanding your Cayenne is very capable off-road (and a very nice place to be with those awesome seats), but the Prado (or any Landcruiser) surely has less 'pucker factor'.

Yes and no.  If I get the under body plates for the Cayenne (people are making them now), it's actually more protected than the Prado.  The underbody is flat, diff and transfer case is high up.  Ground clearance, approach angle, break-over angle and departure angle of the Cayenne when in high air suspension is actually better than a non-lifted Prado.  Gen 1 Cayenne/Touareg are actually not too complicated, but yet definitely can't be repaired by a farmer or Taliban.  On recovery, the rear of the Cayenne is actually better than the Prado.  I can put a bow shackle on the rear tow bar which will be rated substantially more than the Prado.  However there is no rated recovery point on the front the Cayenne, so I have an equalizer strap and use 2 tow hitches (unrated, however people use this... unofficially rated for 2T each point)

What is stopping me from turning the Cayenne into a real off-roader it's our most daily driven car.  It's also the most comfortable especially for our old folks.  I need to eventually buy a normal car for daily driving... but I don't drive daily. 

What the Prado is great is aside from the simplicity is that after market support.  Since it's old Prado feels like a jeep/truck, Cayenne is like a large fat rally car.

That Q7 V12 TDI would make a ridiculous project off-roader  but 50k is too expensive.

 

 

[freaknout 47]

Nice pics Jun.