Will we see a sporty Audi SQ2 with the S3's engine?

Audi unveiled the Audi Q2 at the Geneva Motor Show 2016, in early March. This is the German brand’s bid for the SUV-B segment, a small crossover of the kind we have become so used to seeing on our streets lately (and almost never off the tarmac), but with the Premium, elegant touch that the four-ringed manufacturer always brings.

Although it won’t reach authorised European dealerships until after the summer, the first renders of possible sporty versions with the S and RS badges appeared quickly, like the image you see at the top. It’s likely those digital recreations were seen by the “big bosses” and mentioned in more than one internal meeting.

Perhaps thanks to those artificial images, Audi is considering launching one (or several) sporty versions of its new small crossover. If so, it would most likely carry the S and/or RS badges, which are reserved for the German firm’s high-performance variants.

The renders arrived very quickly; just a few days after the Geneva presentation, some tuned versions were already circulating online. Now it’s time to talk engines, and after the comments from one of Audi’s senior executives, Stephan Knirsch, saying “it’s something we are looking at. It would be relatively easy to do with the MQB platform. The Q2 shares a lot with the A3,” rumours about the performance variant are growing, and options are already being discussed for what engine that version would get.

The possibility is gaining traction that, if a Audi SQ2 is finally launched, it would use the 2-litre turbo engine producing 310 hp and 380 Nm currently fitted to the Audi S3 compact sports car.

Since imagining is free, we can also think that if Audi followed that line and launched an SQ2, it might even launch an extreme Audi RSQ2. Can you imagine it? If that dream came true, it could even use the RS3’s five-cylinder engine, which could push it to an outrageous output of close to 400 hp.

Either way, we have no choice but to keep waiting. Once the Audi Q2 reaches dealerships, executives will analyse sales figures, see which versions are most in demand and listen to the public before getting “down to work” on the sporty versions, if they finally come to fruition.

Via | Auto Express

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CrossoverAudi Q218 versions · from 35,010 €