First official look: The Q starts here!

AUDI’s forthcoming Q7 SUV prototype won’t be shown to the public until this year’s Frankfurt motor show in September, but that hasn’t stopped the company from indulging in a pre-lauch program which included a "surprise" appearance at the piazza of the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt in late February - pictures of which have now emerged.

The Q7’s appearance came along to join in "quattro Night" celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Audi’s first venture into all-wheel drive – the turbocharged quattro that blitzed the World Rally Championship in the early 1980s.

The production version of the Q7 is due to hit the world market, including Australia, in 2006 and is expected to use popwerplants from the existing Audi range - incuding the 4.2-litre V8 and the 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel.

The all-wheel technology is something with which Audi has had some experience, and we can expect the high-rise SUV will adopt much of the existing mechanicals seen in curent AWD Audis.

Audi says that over the next few months Q7 prototypes will undergo "intensive tests in the toughest conditions imaginable, including in Arctic regions and burning deserts: proving grounds to guarantee a successful production launch".

The Q7's in-the-metal appearance followed Audi's self-generated ‘scoop’ photo of the forthcoming luxury SUV wagon, mildly-disguised and showing off its off-road prowess a full year before its local launch here.

The point of it all? Don’t buy the new Mercedes M-class and BMW X5 until you’ve checked this one out first. But only if you’re patient...