AlexTTQ

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Audi of America -- which is rolling out the new A3 hatchback, A4 sedan and A6 Avant wagon this year -- will continue its new-product torrent in 2006 with the launch of the high-performance RS4 and the brand's first-ever SUV, the Q7.

The RS4 will be priced around $70,000, Johan de Nysschen, Audi of America's executive vice president, told Inside Line. He added, "The only choices will be color and trim."

De Nysschen said the Q7, a seven-passenger SUV, will be "the star of 2006" for Audi of America. The vehicle will debut this fall at the Frankfurt auto show and will hit the U.S. market in mid-2006.

He said it will be priced from $40,000 to $55,000, and will compete with the BMW X5 and the Porsche Cayenne. It will be offered with a 4.2-liter V8 and one of two V6 engines -- the 255-hp 3.2-liter that powers the new 2005 A4 sedan or a more powerful 3.6-liter V6.

The five-passenger Q5 compact SUV will debut in 2008 or 2009, he said. It will be priced from around $35,000 and will compete against the BMW X3. He said it would "probably not have a V8 option." The Q5, which will share a platform with the A4, is likely to be powered by either a 2.0-liter four-cylinder or a 3.2-liter V6.

1200RT-P

hmm.. no deisel option.. maybe we wont see the V10-TDI?

April

Perhaps later. 3.0 TDI is coming for Q7 and A6.