Luxury flagship will prioritise rear passenger comfort and will likely offer option of V8 power The new Audi Q9 SUV will serve as an indirect successor to the A8 saloon as the brand’s luxury flagship when it launches later this year. The new model, already spied testing but officially announced during Audi’s annual media conference, will be the German firm’s largest and most luxurious model to date. It will sit above the Q7 in Audi’s SUV line-up and will be offered as a seven-seater or with a six-seat layout featuring luxurious rear seats. The Q9’s focus on rear passenger comfort is intended to help it take on the role of the A8, which has just gone out of production, as an upmarket executive car. It is primarily focused on the US, China and Middle East markets, but it will be offered in the UK. Audi has given few technical details of the model yet, but spy shots show that it will have a large bonnet and a big new version of Audi’s single frame grille. It is set to be based on an extended version of the Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) platform, and will be offered with a range of powertrains. That will likely include a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 in the flagship SQ9. The Q9 will also form the basis of sibling brand Porsche's flagship SUV, codenamed 'K1' . That car, tentatively scheduled for a UK launch in 2028, is expected to be built on the same line as the Q9 at the Volkswagen Group's factory in Bratislava, Slovakia.