2009 Audi Q5 Custom Concept: The 300kW SUV

This year’s GTI meet in Wörthersee – an annual event for European Audi and Volkswagen performance enthusiasts that also saw the unveilling of the VW Golf GTI W12 concept – plays host to a new offering from Audi, in the form of the Audi Q5 Custom Concept.

Created as part of its “100 years of Audi” celebrations, Ingolstadt’s insane Q5 Custom Concept develops a goodly 300kW from the company’s new supercharged 3.0 litre TFSI six-cylinder petrol engine, and will – says Audi – bolt from zero to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds, topping out at an electronically-limited 250km/h.

Are we looking at the precursor to a new performance SUV from Audi, badged perhaps as the RQ5?

Wearing red-highlighted 21-inch versions of the 7 twin-spoke wheels most famously seen on the barn-storming Audi RS4, and sitting on a wider track and lowered ride height, the Q5 Custom Concept (let’s call it the Q5CC) features a special Daytona Grey finish and RS-style body kit.

The widened track is a good 90mm wider than the standard model, while the ride height has been dropped by a substantial 60mm.

The regular Q5 makes an agreeable 245kW, so the jump to 300kW is no small gain either.

The Q5CC isn’t the only car Audi isn’t displaying at this year’s GTI meet, either. Other notable models on show include the new 253kW Audi TT RS and Ingolstadt’s supercar, the Audi R8.

2010 Toyota Prius Design Set To Influence Future Toyota Models

If you’re a Toyota nut but not the biggest fan of the upcoming Prius’ style, you’ve got a problem. If, on the other hand, the look of the new 2010 Toyota Prius hits the spot for you, then the local Toyota showroom offers a rosy future.

In a recent presentation at Toyota’s design studios, global design chief Wahei Hirai told the press that the Prius, which he described as an example of “free-form geometrics,” is a symbol of things to come for the world’s largest carmaker.

“Prius is a showcase. We can try many design cues here first,” Hirai told press. “This has to be symbolic.”

A major element in the design of the new Prius is its ultra-low drag coefficient, which Toyota was able to scrape down from 0.26 to 0.25. It doesn’t sound like a huge leap, but at the cutting edge of aerodynamics science, it’s no small achievement.

While the flowing bonnet, roofline and high rear deck are uniquely Prius features and not likely to transfer to the likes of the Camry or Corolla (lest they dilute the Prius’ image), there are smaller, more specific elements that will make the leap.

Features such as Hirai’s ‘Aerocorner’ styling – where the flowing lines of the upper body terminate in a sharp edge and the flat edges either side of the wheel wheels – help to control airflow and turbulence as the vehicle is in motion, and are expected to feature prominently in other Toyota models.

Other features we should expect to see more of are smaller top grilles sitting above larger lower grilles, allowing for better airflow over the top of the car.

Simon Humphries, general manager for global design, described the small upper grille of the Prius as an “anti-traditional” design, one step closer to the company’s ultimate goal: no upper grille at all, an approach similar to the 2009 Mazda3.

Additional panelling beneath the body of future models will assist with increased airflow, as will a move towards the Prius’ more sharply angled rear overhang.

Hirai said that the Toyota badge will form a stronger, more integrated feature of future Toyota designs, with the vehicle’s style flowing outward from the badge, as if it were the heart of the car. And in a sense, it is – at least metaphorically.

The 2010 Toyota Prius is due for its Australian launch in July.