The German automaker unveiled its first full-size luxury SUV, the Audi Q9, at a private estate an hour outside Toronto on an early October evening.
Launch event blends cuisine and design
Guests arrived to a backyard patio shaded by sugar maple trees just beginning to turn. A chef prepared thin jianbing rolls filled with lobster, bee pollen and sweet bean paste, arranging them in sculptural wooden hands for service.
The evening’s theme, “the consequence of ideals,” echoed Audi’s history of pushing technical limits, from permanent all-wheel drive in 1980s rallying to early adoption of direct-fuel injection and LED lighting at Le Mans.
Among the highlights was the Q9’s rear lights – curved digital OLEDs, a world first, made possible by ultra-thin glass; that create a wider angle of illumination and reveal a captivatingly detailed geometric glow up close.
The chef, Jeremy Austin, runs the Michelin-starred Creemore restaurant The Pine, known for haute-cuisine twists on Chinese street food. His team, dressed in olive-green mechanic jumpsuits, added a culinary flair to the automotive showcase.
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The venue, designed by AKB Architects, featured floor-to-ceiling glass walls that blurred indoor and outdoor spaces, reminiscent of the Farnsworth House and Philip Johnson’s Glass House.
Inside, designer Nivek Remas curated museum-quality artworks by David Hockney and furnishings by Sebastian Herkner and Oscar Niemeyer, while a central spiral staircase offered sweeping views of the modern setting.
Performance specs and interior flexibility
After a champagne toast, guests moved to a subterranean concrete garage where both the Q9 and the sportier SQ9 entered. The two models differ in grille design: the Q9 uses an illuminated linear pattern, the SQ9 a bold honeycomb hex grille.
The Q9 is the largest Audi ever built, yet it maneuvers with welcome fluidity, featuring rear wheels that steer up to five degrees to help with tight city corner turns.
Launch event conclusion
Guests sat in Jacques Guillon Cord chairs at long dining tables, under a spectacular light fixture. The setting and dishes served as a reminder that executing on high standards is rare, but the Q9 is an exception.
