The concept SUV on the Audi stand at the Detroit at the North American international auto show, now on in Detroit, is actually more of a themed show car.
It's based on the Q3 (which isn't currently available in the US of A) and it's appropriate to the season, with the United State deep in the bitter cold of a difficult winter.
The Q3 Vail is named after a famous Colorado ski resort and carries all the bling it will need to catch the eye of young, affluent, outdoorsy Americans who hang out in trendy mountain resorts in winter even if they don't ski.
And it'll get them there, whatever the weather, with a 2.5-litre, five-cylinder TFSI direct-injection turbopetrol under the bonnet, for which Audi quotes 231kW and 400Nm - good enough for 0-100 in 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 262km/h.
It drives through a seven-speed S tronic auto transmission and quattro permanent all-wheel drive, and even the engine bay has been tarted up with wrinkle-finish red paint on the cam-cover, a carbon-fibre engine cover and an acoustic mat under the bonnet embossed with the “Q3 Vail” logo.
The show car is finished in a special red paint with pearlescent gold particles, with high-gloss trim in aluminum and black around the windows, while the add-on body parts are matt grey.
Vertical aluminium struts extend across the single-frame grille, pulled outwards around the horizontal panel that carries the number plate on production Q3s. The struts have a special two-tone effect, with matt quartz-based paint on their sides and polished gloss faces.
The LED daytime running lights are painted anthracite so they don't show when the car is switched off and the tops of the side air inlets sport solid aluminium panels.
The show car also has special aluminium roof rails for carrying carbon-fibre skis and snowboards, with compact, wide-angled LED lights controlled via buttons in the roof module.
The Vail's flared wheel arches and running boards, however, will be available as aftermarket accessories when the production Q3 is released in the US later in 2012.
The Vail runs on five-spoked, 20” rims, finished to match the grille slats with polished faces and matt-quartz sides, shod with 225/45 tyres. Its track is 40mm wider than that of a standard Q3 and the suspension 30mm higher, with the dual tailpipes integrated into the diffuser and underbody guard.
The inside is fitted in black, red and grey, with a dark grey alcantara headlining and black ribbed floor-mats carpets edged with narrow strips of red velvet-finish leather.
The seats are upholstered with an unusual mixed leather/fabric material that has thin strips of leather, just a few tenths of a millimetre wide, interwoven with yarn.
The upholstery has double-stitched piping in red, with small sections in red velvet-finish leather, carried through to the door trims with steel gray nappa leather trim.
The instrument panel is trimmed in thin black leather with contrasting grey stitching, and grey leather with red stitching across the top of the binnacle, while the inlays around the gear selector, at the front of the cockpit and in the doors are made of special three-dimensional stainless-steel mesh.
The speedometer and rev-counter have rotary-ground aluminium faces with shiny metal bezels, the leather-covered steering wheel has red stitching and aluminium trim and even the rubber faces of the pedals are slit to show off the strainless-steel under the pads.
The specially programmed satnav includes an animation showing the longitudinal and latitudinal tilt angle of the car and, in places that are not included in the map data, it shows the GPS coordinates of the route so you can't get lost no matter how far off the beaten track you venture.
There are small LED spotlights on the inside of the tailgate, and the side wall of the load area has a charging station for storing and, at the same time, charging the two torches that come with the Vail - each of which also has an infra-red heating element to warm your hands or a pair of ski boots.
There's also a thermos container in the cup holder between the front seats and that's able to chill or warm drinks, and even the load-area carpet has heating pads in the section that folds out over the sill to provide a warm place to sit while you put on your ski boots.