Audi’s second shouty AUDI is here for China

Remember when Audi – sorry, AUDI – was shouting about its E5 SPORTBACK for China last year? Well, it’s time to warm up those vocal chords again, because the caps lock brand is back with the new AUDI E7X.

As you can see, this time around the ‘Audi and SAIC Cooperation Project’ has come up with… an all-electric SUV. A big one too, because the E7X is just over five metres long and just under two metres wide. Around the same size as a full fat Range Rover.

Unveiled at the recent Beijing show, this thing has been “tailor-made for China” and will be built in Shanghai. Two variants will be available, with a 402bhp rear-wheel drive version and a 671bhp quattro. Hang on, shouldn’t that be QUATTRO?

Anyway, that all-wheel drive version will do 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, and all E7Xs will get all-wheel steering, adaptive air suspension and a 900-volt architecture for rapid recharging. The battery packs on offer are 100kWh or 109kWh, with a 10 – 80 per cent charge apparently taking just 13 minutes. A max of 466 miles of range on the CLTC cycle, too.

There’s also lidar-based driver assistance tech, while inside you get a 27in panoramic display across the width of the dash and a 21.4in screen for rear seat passengers. As you might imagine, there’s a proper cinema mode to make the most of that rear screen, plus a 26-speaker Bose sound system and an AI voice assistant. You do still get some old school luxury materials though, including open-pore chestnut, oak trim and Nappa leather. Heck, you can even have a four-seat layout rather than the traditional five if you want to go full luxury.

On the outside the styling is very much as you’d expect if you’ve seen the E5 SPORTBACK. AUDI describes it as “monolithic” and “defined by simplicity, reduction, and precision”. Apparently this E7X will be on sale before the middle of this year, and then another shouty AUDI saloon will arrive next year.