The BMW X6 invented the SUV Coupe niche and it will forever be blamed for that by the “purists.” To some extent I agree with them, as these big SUVs can hardly be compared to an old-school Coupe. And shouldn’t even be trying. Then again, once you drive one, like the X6 M for example, you start to come around. Nowadays, we’re seeing Coupe SUV models coming out of the woodwork as people seemingly like them and are buying them.
If there was no money to be made out of these cars, no car maker would invest so much in developing them. Therefore, the X6 is now facing stiff competition from the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, and the Audi Q8 more recently. The Audi team got even busier right away and started developing mild and high performance versions too. The one we’re going to check out today is the Audi SQ8.
This bad boy uses a 4-liter diesel V8 under the hood, aided by an electrically stimulated turbocharger that basically reduces lag to zero. This massive mill can then deliver 435 HP and 900 Nm of torque to the four corners of the car, according to Audi. The guys from DSC Off took it to a dyno though and the results showed slightly different numbers: 438 HP and 880 Nm of torque. Not far off, to be fair.
The main rival for this car from BMW is the X6 M50d which will soon be going out of production as the B57S engine will be retired. This quad-turbocharged 3-liter straight six diesel is rated for 400 HP and 760 Nm of torque. The dyno says it close but not quite there.
The X6 showed 391 HP and 762 Nm of torque on the dyno. So how will the two compare once they are unleashed on the drag strip? Well, I wish I could say the BMW overcame the 50 HP difference but that’s just not the case. The action starts at the 25-minute mark.
