Just as Audi confirmed a trio of new models for the upcoming year, spy photographers managed to capture the most opulent of the bunch. It’s the future Audi Q9, the range-topping, ultra-luxurious Horch edition. This gargantuan flagship comes with one ambitious purpose: to directly challenge the Mercedes-Maybach GLS. It wants to be the definitive, rolling statement of Audi luxury.
What distinguishes the new Audi Q9 from its lesser siblings? Not much from the outside, frankly. The differences on the prototype are minimal. Just a slightly revised front bumper and a grille featuring vertical bars. Presumably, the production version will feature the expected smattering of additional chrome. Maybe a two-tone paint job cribbed from the Audi A8 L Horch, and the necessary “H-crown” badging.
We can safely predict a ridiculous level of comfort. Expect the rear passenger area to be less a bench seat and more a pair of heated and massaging thrones separated by a lavish center console. Features will almost certainly include long-pile floor mats and rear-seat entertainment. The driver isn’t totally forgotten, likely receiving a familiar assortment of digital screens. An 11.9-inch instrument cluster, a 14.5-inch infotainment screen, and a dedicated 10.9-inch display for the front passenger to futz with.
Under the hood, the Horch edition will logically forego the plug-in hybrid powertrains reserved for the regular Q9. Instead, we anticipate the only logical choice for excessive luxury: a potent 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. This enormous V8-powered engine is arriving next year as part of Audi’s “largest product initiative” ever, alongside a redesigned Q7 and several high-performance RS models.
Despite revenues increasing 4.6% to €48.4 billion, Audi deliveries dropped 4.8% globally in the first nine months of the year, with significant plunges in China (9%) and North America (5%). Furthermore, operating profit took a hit, plummeting from €2.1 billion to €1.6 billion, blamed in part on US tariffs and the “financial tension” of re-engineering a co-developed electric platform.
