In an otherwise boring press release talking about how much money it has made so far this year, Audi briefly mentions what it has planned for 2018. The Ingolstadt-based brand has promised to up the ante in terms of launches and said that it plans to start production of a new model once every three weeks. That means approximately 17 new Audis next year.
Although not specified in the press release, logic tells us some of them will be derivatives of existing models rather than only new generations or entirely new models. Speaking of monikers that haven’t been used before – Audi’s already expansive range will grow in 2018 to include the Q8, which is set to be positioned on top of an SUV family that will be further broadened to make room for the fully electric E-Tron.
With Audi Sport already announcing more RS models, there’s a good chance we will see an RS Q5 sometime next year. Since we’re still on the subject of SUVs, the all-new Q3 pictured above will be unveiled in 2018 as well. An RS 5 Sportback could be planned if we were to trust the spy images we saw back in early August.
Audi is also set to launch its next-generation A6 model in 2018, following the reveals of the A8 and A7 Sportback in 2017. Speaking of which, these two top tier models could receive the sporty S treatment and we won't be too surprised if it will be the same case with the Q2 crossover as an SQ2 might happen.
We’re also expecting to see the new Seat-built A1 to land towards the end of the year and spy shots have shown some sort of an R8 is in the works as well, either an R8 GT or an entry-level variant with a six-cylinder engine.
A couple of surprises – like a new rear-wheel-drive Audi Sport car – could round off the aggressive new model assault.
