ABT hands new Audi SQ5 TDI some extra grunt and a subtle aero kit

By: CAR magazine

Remember the upgraded Audi SQ5 that ABT Sportsline revealed in 2018? Now, with the release of the new diesel-powered variant, the folks over at the German tuner has decided to give Ingolstadt’s oil-burning premium midsize performance SUV some added grunt.

Thanks to the tuner’s “high-tech” engine control unit, the standard model’s 3,0-litre V6 turbodiesel unit (fitted with an electrically powered compressor as standard) now makes 287 kW and 760 N.m, up form the stock outputs of 255 kW and 700 N.m.

According to the firm, the added performance sheds two-tenths of a second off Audi’s claimed 0-100 km/h time. The tuned SQ5 TDI thus now sprints to three figures in a claimed 4,9 seconds. 

Further mechanical enhancements include coil-over suspension springs, which ABT says increase the SUV’s “dynamic potential” and allow it to ride closer to the ground by between 35 and 60 mm.

Open the doors and you will be greeted by ABT entrance lights, while the cabin features an ABT-branded start/stop button and gear knob.

As has become ABT tradition, the modified Audi SQ5 TDI gains only subtle exterior updates. However, you will be hard-pressed not to notice those large 22-inch Sport HR Aero alloys, which are finished in a “dark smoke” hue.

Opt for the additional aero package and the Kempton-based tuner will throw in revised front and rear skirts, the latter including carbon-fibre quad-tailpipes, as well as door strip attachments. The model you see here is also equipped with extended wheelarches and a roof-mounted rear wing.

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