CGI Vision of Budget 2027 Audi Q9 Shows Barebones Trim

A new CGI rendering by digital artist Nikita Chuicko, known online as 'kelsonik', imagines a stripped-back 2027 Audi Q9 with plastic exterior trim, black steel wheels, a six-speed manual gearbox and a cloth-upholstered interior.

Sales context and Audi's US manufacturing plan

Audi has reported weakening demand in the United States, with a 15 percent decline in sales during the third quarter and a 16 percent drop year-to-date after nine months. The brand did not record a strong 2025 and offered no positive outlook for that year; Audi is placing some of its recovery hopes on new models that have recently reached market.

The A5 and A6 family showed gains of 21 percent and 24 percent respectively over the nine-month period, and Audi has introduced the all-new Q7 along with the first-ever Q9 full-size three-row crossover. The Q7 and the larger Q9 are expected to affect sales figures as they ramp across dealerships next year.

At the end of October 2026 Audi announced a long-term commitment to a US production site in Georgia valued at about $4 billion and projected to create some 4,500 jobs. The plant is scheduled to begin focusing in 2030 on premium SUVs "tailored to North American customers," which likely means models such as the Q7 and Q9 will have local production alongside the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in Slovakia. Current US starting prices for the redesigned line are $70,900 for the Q7, $98,700 for the SQ7, and $87,700 for the Q9 or about $118,000 for the SQ9; Audi has not guaranteed that local production will reduce retail prices, and inflationary pressure may limit any downward effect.

What the CGI 'Pure Stock' Q9 proposes

Chuicko, who creates unofficial CGI concepts under the 'kelsonik' handle and has previously rendered models such as the Mercedes-AMG GT SUV, Jaguar Type 01, BMW G50 3 Series, Bentley Torcal and BMW G65 X5, has added a Pure Stock treatment for the larger 2027 Audi Q9 following a prior Pure Stock Q7 project. The image set is an independent design exercise and not an Audi release.

In the rendering the base Q9 wears non-metallic white, described by the artist as the default free color for many brands, and a series of deliberately low-cost exterior treatments. Exterior details shown in the CGI include:

• black plastic grille and bumper cladding
• black roof rails, window surrounds, mirror caps and door handles
• black side sills, fender surrounds and black steel wheels

The lighting elements remain LED at front and rear, and the roof spoiler is color-matched to the body.

Inside, the Pure Stock concept abandons Audi's triple-screen layout and leather trim. The cockpit in the rendering features round analog dials for the driver, a small central display with a pronounced bezel, separate manual climate controls, a six-speed manual transmission, cloth upholstery, a manual handbrake lever and what appear to be recycled materials on the door cards. The image set represents a hypothetical, lower-cost interpretation rather than an announced production trim.