With The 2017 Geneva Motorshow in full swing this time of the year marks the Automotive equivalent of Christmas as a hail storm of new model releases and concepts hit the news cycle. The barrage is unstoppable and lasts for a few days before the media blitz is replaced by dead calm. So here we go, it s the Audi Q8 Sport Concept. It should be noted that concepts are usually pre-cursors, a pre-emptive strike so to speak of what a particular auto manufacture has planned. Auto concepts will never be directly transferred to production models, they are in many ways publicity stunts and in other ways a focused look at future model releases. So expect some exterior and interior design elements to make their way into a Q8 proper, such as that fancy looking grille and headlight design. To our eyes it looks like an enlarged A3. The Electrically Powered Compressor (EPC) technology first used by Audi in the SQ7 TDi now makes its first appearance on the 6-cylinder 3.0 TFSI engine, it has the equivalent efficiency of a 4-cylinder engine. Audi says the Q8 Sport Concept outputs 476PS with a 0 – 62mph time of 4.7 seconds,  a top speed of 170mph and a claimed range of 745 miles. Audi call the Q8 a mild hybrid because electrical drive operates low priority functions such as slow moving traffic situations, start-stop, parking and crawl speed, all under electric power. The recuperation qualities generated by the electric compressor, which is kind of like an electric motor, are transferred to a lithium ion battery pack which in turn stores and releases electric power when required. Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management at AUDI AG says “The drive system of the Audi Q8 sport concept is a major step towards optimising efficiency and sustainability in large-volume series production. The combination of mild hybrid technology and a TFSI engine sets a new benchmark for the synthesis of electromobility and combustion engines. In the future, this combination will be used in many Audi models,”. The Q8 proper is expected to go on sale in 2018, it will be Audi’s range topping SUV.