Audi will double the number of SUVs in its range, which currently includes the recently announced Q3 (pictured in the above sketch), plus the Q5 and Q7, with the addition of three new models by 2016, according to a company insider cited by Autocar magazine. The new models will be named Q2, Q4 and Q6, and according to the magazine’s source, will enable the Ingolstadt-based carmaker to cover every niche of the popular SUV segment.

The first addition to Audi’s SUV line-up is said to be the Q4, which will be a sportier version of the existing Q5 designed to compete against Range Rover’s Evoque and to a lesser degree, sister company Porsche’s upcoming Cajun. It is expected to launch sometime in 2014 or 2015.

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Audi of America has launched a new advertising campaign that will most likely generate a similar response from the competition in the premium segment. Under the tagline “Car Carrier”, the two Audi commercials feature a BMW owner that goes nuts when he sees a truck full of brand new automotive metal from Ingolstadt.

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In 2010, the year that Audi celebrated the 30th anniversary of the quattro, it sold an impressive 437,792 quattro-equipped cars, or about 38 percent of its total production. The brand with the four rings said it sells more all-wheel drive vehicles than any other premium manufacturer in the world.

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*The above photo is a rendering from a Teamspeed forum member

New details on Porsche's junior SUV have emerged a day after the company confirmed the Leipzig plant as the production site for the new car. German car magazine AutoBild reported that Porsche will launch the compact SUV in a three-door body style adding that the Cajun will have a sporty character to differentiate it from the Audi Q5.

Porsche originally intended to launch the Cajun as a five-door model, but later decided it would be better to start off with a three-door variant since it doesn't want to affect the sales of the Q5, upon which the Cajun is based.

The Stuttgart automaker also feared that a five-door Cajun might threaten the Cayenne as well, so the company is said to have decided to give its smaller SUV a much more dynamic appearance. However, Porsche did not exclude a five-door version in the near future.

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Here we go again; according to unconfirmed reports from the UK, Lamborghini is working on a spiritual successor to the LM002 aka Rambo Lambo – you know, the monstrous Italian SUV of the late 1980s, which used the Countach's 5.2-liter V12 and had a special place in the hearts of obscenely rich sheiks.

"Industry insiders" say that the new model will be based on the same platform as the Audi Q5 and Porsche's upcoming Cajun. Let me deviate right here, as this sounds more than a bit off.

The original LM002 measured 4.9 meters (192 inches) in length, but its bulky design made it seem a lot bigger. The Audi Q5 is 4.62 meters (182 inches) long and it shows, as it doesn't come anywhere near the Q7's presence. It really looks like a small SUV. No, a true successor has to be as off the charts as the original or even more. A bigger platform is a must. Strike one.

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Although there's been no official announcement other than confirmation of a Q5 Hybrid SUV sometime this year (next week's L.A. Auto Show is a good bet), Audi's website seems to think that the brand's mid-size hybrid crossover is ready for some time in the spotlight.

According to the site, the Q5 Hybrid will be a full hybrid with a 2.0 TSI four-cylinder working alongside a 33-kW (44 HP) electric motor, regenerative braking, and start/stop tech.

Behind the scenes, the car will have an adaptive control system to optimize the gas/electric power ratio. On electric power alone, Audi is expecting the car to be able to cruise at speeds up to 100 km/h / 62 mph. Curious about range and efficiency? There's now a power meter in the instrument cluster for just that reason.

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Who would have thought that BMW's all-wheel drive systems were enough to shame Audi's famous quattro system? Not the average consumer, that's for sure (though BMW certainly has had enough time to get it right). BMW, which has actually been making AWD cars for the past 25 years, has decided to begin more aggressively targeting consumers who live in harsher climates.

According to this video, BMW's xDrive is vastly superior to Audi's quattro - at least when driving up metal inclines built by BMW... In the clip, we get a glimpse at what appears to be some sort of BMW press event and a hill climb-off between two small-ish diesel-powered premium soft-roaders: Audi's Q5 and BMW's X3.

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According to Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn himself, there's a new baby Cayenne in the works. In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Winterkorn said Porsche "will get a new SUV, a smaller brother to the Cayenne which might be named Cajun."

I guess the name is appropriate if Porsche insists on spicing up its lineup with controversial vehicles. Should this be the case, can we expect the Panamera coupe to be called the Tabasco? Or perhaps the Texas Pete? Name game in the comments below.

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