The Audi Q7 is a full-size luxury crossover SUV of the German manufacturer Audi, unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of the Q7 began in autumn of 2005 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is the first SUV offering from Audi and went on sale in 2006. Later, Audi's second SUV, the Q5, was unveiled as a 2009 model. Audi has since unveiled a third SUV model, the Q3, which went on sale in the 3rd quarter of 2011. The Q7 shares its platform and chassis with the Volkswagen Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne.
The Q7 (internally designated Typ 4L) utilizes a modified version of the Volkswagen Group PL71 platform. Previewed by the Audi Pikes Peak quattro concept car, the Q7 is designed more for on-road use, and was not meant for serious off-road use where a transfer case is needed. In an off road test through the Australian outback it fared well for a "soft roader". Although it lacks a low-range transfer case, it has quattro permanent four-wheel drive system with a central locking differential, and a self-levelling air suspension with Continuous Damping Control, called Adaptive air suspension, which helps in off road situations. Development began in 2002 under the code AU 716, primarily focused on the Pikes Peak Concept. Design work was frozen for the Concept in July 2002, for presentation at the North American International Auto Show in January 2003. Following the introduction of the concept, full-scale development began on Typ 4L of the PL71 platform. The production design was frozen in late 2003, for a late 2005 start of production. Prototypes went into testing in 2004, with development concluding in the first half of 2005. It introduced the world's only series production passenger car V12 TDI diesel engine.
Q7 offers an optional feature marketed as Audi Music Interface (AMI), to allow user manipulation of an iPod or similar MP3-style player, which can play through the Multi Media Interface. Q7 was the first Audi model to offer Side Assist, a type of blind-spot detection and warning system.
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