Audi Q2: Tuned and knocking on the door of 400bhp!

It is very interesting to see carspotters in action on a Sunday morning in Mumbai. That is because you won’t find them batting an eyelid (or their cameras) at a luxury car such as a BMW without an M badge or an S-Class that isn’t a Maybach. The focus is the loud Porsches, eye-popping G-Wagens, rare JDMs, unique imports of course, goosebump-inducing supercars that fly past. Which explains why I didn’t think much of this red Audi Q2 when it pulled up at one of my Sunday car spotting rituals, with none of the other spotter chappies bothering to pap it either. Luckily for me, Alok Khandelwal behind the ’wheel had ensured that this was no plain Jane SUV, and as he zoomed off into the distance with the soundtrack of the exhaust left in his wake, I could sense the car spotters being miffed at missing a potential photo op with this tuned German.

An SUV does not exactly come across as the first thought at the mention of a tuned Audi but Alok explains the reasoning behind getting the Q2 home in the first place. He has owned a fair share of fast cars in the past including a Polo GTI and a Mini Cooper, and considering that he was looking for a compact car to drive around town with a progression in performance, the Q2 fit his bill perfectly. Ever the enthusiast however, Alok always intended to extract more power from it, and no sooner did he take delivery of the SUV, he went about the business of getting a tune for his brand new ride.

Enter Vikram Walia from Modmycar India, a long-time friend of Alok’s and also one of the renowned names in tuning circles. Vikram is meticulous when it comes to tuned builds, and when it comes to the Q2, Vikram has managed to massage the 2-litre TFSI engine to produce a claimed 380bhp of power and 600Nm of torque. Compared to the stock mill’s numbers, that is a gain of more than 100bhp, with nearly double the amount of torque. To give you some perspective, this Q2 is faster than a now-discontinued Skoda Octavia vRS 245 in a 0-100kmph sprint with a clocked time of 4.8 seconds. It also happens to be just four-tenths of a second off a BMW M340i’s claimed 0-100kmph time, which coincidentally, Alok has just gotten his paws on as well. No slouches in this garage then.

Vikram goes on to explain that the Volkswagen Group cars lend themselves beautifully to tuning, thanks to the commonality of the engines and platforms which has consequently resulted in the ease of availability of bolt-on performance parts as well. He likens this Q2 to being a worthy upgrade from something like an Octy RS, and unlike the Skoda, the Q2’s quattro all-wheel-drive system means that you can put all the power down to the wheels much more effectively, allowing you to get off the line harder and faster. This tuned Q2 even proved itself at The Valley Run 2022 drag races, finishing on the podium in each of the classes that it participated in.

As for the tune itself, Alok is currently running a Stage 3 Etuners ECU remap on the Q2 along with a TCU tune, which has improved the shifting speeds and the responsiveness from the 7-speed DCT transmission as compared to the stock setup. The quest for more power also meant that the turbocharger of the Audi needed to be upgraded for an IS38 turbo, and it is complemented by a CTS intercooler and a RacingLine intake system to allow the 2-litre TFSI engine to breathe better and run cooler, which would allow more power to be extracted in the process.

There is also a custom downpipe for the exhaust system, while the endcan itself is a unit from a Borla, which is responsible for the bassy yet beautiful exhaust note of the Q2. At legal speeds, this exhaust does not really scream its presence, which is a good thing when tiptoeing around the city on your everyday commute. But when you do put your foot down, the soundtrack simply blows you away. It’s that right amount of loudness and character which really sets this particular Audi apart from a stock example. In terms of the cosmetics, this Q2 looks relatively subdued, with just a bunch of cool decals and the stock alloy wheels being traded in favour of the lighter 17-inch Lenso Jager Dyna alloy wheels wrapped in Continental rubber.

But then again, this Q2 fits perfectly in the larger scheme of things for Alok. It is quick enough to shame sports cars in a friendly traffic light GP, and yet it manages to fly below the radar if you were to drive it to your workplace. Your colleagues might need a bit more convincing on why red Audis are infinitely more awesome to turn up in than the traditional monotonous shades though. I don’t usually find myself at a loss for words when it comes to describing cars but with this tuned Q2, I find myself a little stumped. Tuned cars are usually all about excess but this one goes about achieving its business devoid of much pomp and show. Make no mistake however, when this Q2 goes, everyone sits up and takes notice ― especially the car spotters who failed to crane their necks the first time around and are now scrambling for a second chance to bag their shots.