2026 AUDI Q7 WILL HAVE A BOLD NEW FACE

It's the season for Nurburgring testing, and that includes even three-row SUVs like the 2026 Audi Q7, which appears to be getting a brand-new face. The 2025 Audi Q7 was revealed in January, giving the second-generation 4M model its second facelift since being introduced way back in 2015, so it's due for replacement. Indeed, the next Q7 needs big changes, and if these initial sightings are anything to go by, it will get them. We've spotted the third-gen Q7 before, but it was wearing its predecessor's body. Still, this revealed that two separate and rather large screens would feature in the cabin. Not much more could be gleaned, so let's move on to these new images and what they reveal.

Bold New Fascia

Audi will differentiate its combustion and electric models with different naming structures, but there will be common threads in all of their styling. For example, the split headlight treatment we see on the 2026 Q7 calls to mind the lighting layout of the recently unveiled Audi Q6 e-tron, while the complex pattern on the front grille is already becoming evident on other combustion cars, like the latest S3.

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We expect these headlights to be equipped with the latest Audi Matrix technology, while the taillights will be communicative OLEDs. The rear lighting units we see here are obviously placeholders, but it appears that these will be T-shaped, with one section stretching around to the rear fender, one facing the floor, and one facing the center of the tailgate. These taillights may be connected, but it's too early to tell if the space between them will be filled with an accent strip or actual lighting.

Combustion Continues

As mentioned at the outset, the next Q7 needs to be new, but it won't be entirely so. While it will not ride atop the same platform as the second-generation model, the 2026 Q7 won't ride on all-new architecture either. Instead, it will make use of the heavily updated MLB Evo platform seen under the 2024 Porsche Cayenne revealed last year, a vehicle that was so comprehensively renewed that Porsche engineers say it could have passed as an all-new model. We expect similar improvements for the Q7, enabling it to live on until it gets an electric replacement sometime near the end of this decade. Until then, we'll have a new face to get accustomed to when it is revealed in full next year.