Audi’s New SQ9 and Q9 Flagship SUVs Arrive From $87,700 With 591-HP V8 Option

Audi opened order books this week for its first three-row flagship SUV, the 2027 Q9, and its high-performance sibling, the SQ9. Deliveries begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, with the Q9 priced from $87,700 and the SQ9 from $118,000 before destination, taxes and dealer fees.

The two SUVs put Audi into a fight that BMW’s X7, the Mercedes-Benz GLS and the Range Rover have had largely to themselves: full-size, three-row luxury SUVs built for buyers who want six or seven seats without giving up a prestige badge or a long features list. Audi built the SQ9 around a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that makes 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, enough for a 3.8-second sprint to 60 mph. Audi says that run time makes the SQ9 the quickest three-row SUV to 60 mph in its class, measured against the 2027 BMW X7 M60i, the 2027 Mercedes-Benz GLS 580 and the 2026 Range Rover SE LWB V8.

Two Models, Two Different Jobs

The Q9 and SQ9 share a body and an interior, but Audi tuned them for different buyers. Both come standard with quattro all-wheel drive, a seven-seat layout, and heavy-duty towing hardware rated at 7,700 pounds with the optional tow hitch. The Q9 leans toward comfort, with damper tuning aimed at isolation and a quieter cabin. The SQ9 gets a rear-biased quattro system with an electronically controlled rear differential lock, standard rear-wheel steering and a staggered tire setup: 285/40 front and 305/35 rear all-season tires on standard 22-inch wheels, or 285/35 front and 315/30 rear summer tires on optional 23-inch wheels.

An electromechanical clutch shifts torque between the front and rear axles depending on load and driver input, and in hard cornering the system can send nearly all available power to the rear wheels. Six drive modes, including comfort, a sport-tuned setting, offroad and an “assistant” setting that reads driver behavior, adjust throttle response, steering effort, suspension height and shift points to match. Standard adaptive air suspension gives both models 3.5 inches of ride-height travel between the lowest setting and the highest, for a maximum ground clearance of 10 inches.

Both SUVs measure 208.9 inches long on a 123.5-inch wheelbase. That size buys real space: 19.3 cubic feet of cargo room behind the third row, expanding to 87.7 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded flat.

A Cabin Built for Families and Long Trips

Every Q9 and SQ9 seats seven as standard, with an optional six-seat layout that swaps the second-row bench for two captain’s chairs. Those seats power-adjust and tilt forward for third-row access even with a rear-facing child seat installed, and the second row carries three LATCH mounting points with two more in the third row, so a family can install up to three child seats side by side. Automatic power-assisted doors, five-zone climate control and eight USB ports throughout the cabin round out the everyday features, and a panoramic sunroof spanning more than 16 square feet, with nine individually dimmable segments, tops the SQ9.

The SQ9 also includes a factory dashcam mounted behind the rearview mirror as standard, along with heated first- and second-row seats, heated armrests, ventilated and massaging front seats, and heated third-row seats. An available Bang & Olufsen sound system adds seat-mounted bass actuators in the front seats and a 1,360-watt, 24-channel amplifier feeding 22 speakers, an arrangement Audi calls 4D Sound.

Headlights That React, Taillights That Talk

The Q9 family brings Audi’s Digital Matrix LED headlights to the US for the first time, using an array of 25,600 micro-LEDs per side to dim only the specific beam segments that would blind an oncoming driver, rather than switching the whole beam on or off. The system meets Department of Transportation glare rules while matching the adaptive high-beam technology Audi has sold in Europe for more than a decade. At the rear, an available third-generation curved OLED taillight, a production-vehicle first, uses 512 individually controlled segments across six panels to display distinct light signatures, including a warning triangle when the hazards are on. New “advanced turn signals” project a stylized arrow onto the pavement next to the car when signaling at night, aimed at cyclists and pedestrians who might not see a standard indicator.

Driver Assistance and a Level 2 Highway System

Standard safety equipment across the range includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic assist, a 360-degree camera system and self-parking. An exit-warning feature uses rear radar to stop the power-assisted doors from opening if a cyclist or car is approaching, while lighting alerts warn anyone nearby.

The SQ9 also introduces Audi’s hands-free highway driving system to the US, a Level 2 system that lets drivers take their hands off the wheel on approved divided highways at speeds up to 85 mph while the car handles steering, acceleration and braking. A steering-column camera tracks the driver’s eyes and head position, and the system will bring the vehicle to a stop if it detects the driver has stopped paying attention. Audi classifies the feature as partial automation: the driver stays legally responsible at all times.

Ordering and Pricing

Order books for both the Q9 and SQ9 are open now, with deliveries starting in the fourth quarter of 2026. Audi lists five optional packages for the SQ9, covering black exterior trim, 23-inch wheels, a sport suspension with red brake calipers, and a luxury package that adds the digital taillights and illuminated grille. Individual options include the captain’s chairs, the tow hitch and the Bang & Olufsen sound system.

At $87,700 to start, the Q9 undercuts the 2027 BMW X7’s base price, while the $118,000 SQ9 lands close to the X7 M60i and the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63. All of these SUVs measure roughly the same on paper, so buyers cross-shopping the segment will want to compare towing figures, second-row configurations and third-row space directly to see how each brand splits cargo room against passenger space.