Audi Q3 Vail Concept previews Audi Q3 RS +video

Audi Q3 Vail Concept

The Audi Q3 Vail Concept – revealed at the Detroit Auto Show – gets a winter theme and previews the RS-engined hot Q3 Audi are planning.

The Interwebs decided this last few days that the Audi Q3 Vail would be a two-door coupe version of the Q3 – a mini X6, for want of a better comparison. But it’s not. In fact, beyond the Winter Vail theme, what we have in the Vail is a preview of the Audi Q3 RS.

We can’t call it the Audi Q3 RS because Audi has said it won’t get that moniker, but both the Vail Concept and the hot Audi Q3 make use of the Audi TT RS’s 2.5 litre engine with 312bhp and 295lb/ft of torque. All that extra power goes through a seven-speed S-Tronic ‘box to all four wheels, offering a 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 163mph.

The Q3 Vail is named after a US Winter Sports resort, and comes with matt grey add on bits of plastic to make it look butch and a red paint job with gold pearlescent particles, 20″ alloys, LEDs, Nappa leather, metal dials and even a set of LEDs in the roof rails.

As far as we can tell, Audi has no plans to put the Vail Concept in to production, but take away some of the concept stuff and what we’re left with is the Audi Q3 RS, even if it’s not called that.

(17 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

By Cars UK