AUDI ASSAULT; Product push-15 models by 2015-starts with 2009 Q5.(News)

Byline: GREG KABLE

Audi's Q5 sport/utility vehicle is at the heart of an ambitious new model plan known internally as "Route 15''-adding as many as 15 models to the German carmaker's ranks by 2015.

Set for North American sale by the end of 2008 and starting at about $38,000, the Q5 is Audi's stylish retort to the likes of the BMW X3 and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLK (see illustration on page 8). Its task is to mirror the success of its larger stable mate, the Q7, which has exceeded Audi's earlier expectations by racking up nearly 90,000 sales since its launch in early 2006.

Developed in-house, the 2009 Q5 likely will premiere at next January's Detroit auto show, joining the Q7 as the second in a trio of premium SUVs that will form a vital part of Audi's secret Route 15 program. The even smaller Q3, patterned after the Cross Coupe Quattro concept shown at Shanghai in April, will complete the SUV lineup in 2010, AutoWeek has confirmed. Unlike the larger Q5 and Q7, which stick with Audi's traditional longitudinal engine design, the Q3 is based on the soon-to-be-launched Volkswagen Tiguan ("Tiguan Tough,'' AW, June 25) with a transverse engine layout.

The Q5, meanwhile, is conceived as a much sportier vehicle than the imposing Q7 and will favor driving dynamics over load-carrying ability. A good deal of development came on the Nurburgring circuit in Germany, where the Q5's four-wheel-drive running gear was tested while hidden underneath heavily modified A4 wagon bodies.

Underpinning the new SUV is Audi's Modular Longitudinal Platform (MLP) structure, first seen in the recently introduced A5 coupe and also set to appear underneath the all-new A4 at September's Frankfurt show. It will ...