--- title: "The Audi SQ5 Has a Clever Lighting Easter Egg That’s Only Legal in the US" date: "2025-11-18" modified: "2025-11-18" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-audi-sq5-has-a-clever-lighting-easter-egg-thats-only-legal-in-the-us" categories: - "Audi News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Audi" - "luxury" - "SQ5" - "suv/crossover" --- # The Audi SQ5 Has a Clever Lighting Easter Egg That’s Only Legal in the US ![Audi SQ5 lighting]() *\Joel Feder\* If you happen to be stuck behind an [Audi SQ5]() in traffic, you may notice something unusual. When its third brake light flicks on, it doesn't merely do so with a short strip of red above the rear window. Rather, it displays the "quattro" logo in the glass itself, centered in a stylistically broken, wide bar of light. It's a neat Easter egg, and a creative use of the third brake light that you don't often see in cars. And that's because it's typically illegal—but not in the U.S. The new SQ5 was launched earlier this year, and [Audi]() noted the distinctive design of its lighting in [a *specific* press release](), because this car, in standard Audi fashion, does plenty of nifty things with lights. The main taillights, for example, comprise many triangular segments that can be lit depending on context, like flashing a warning signal to following drivers when they're in the SUV's blind spot. The Quattro thing, on the other hand, isn't strictly a safety feature—Audi's just done it because it looks cool, obviously. To achieve it, the underside of the tailgate-mounted spoiler actually houses all of the critical components. The rear glass reflects the projection, which can then be seen by trailing drivers. Note that for this to work, though, the word "quattro" must be mirrored. I'd suspect its shape is also purposefully distorted in an unusual way to scale properly onto the glass when viewed from behind. ![2025 Audi SQ5]() ![2025 Audi SQ5]() ![2025 Audi SQ5]() As it stands, though, this is a feature the SQ5 gets to show off only in America. That's because, as an [Audi]() USA spokesperson told *The Drive*, Europe has laws against using safety-critical lighting on a vehicle for advertising. On a Euro-market SQ5, then, the effect probably looks more like what Audi illustrated in a computer-generated video, where the broken line motif continues the whole way across the bar, no "quattro" to be found. ![]() *Notice how, in the screenshot of this video, both the conventional third brake light in the spoiler and the reflected one are used together. It's a fourth brake light! *Audi** If you know your [global automotive lighting regulations]()—and *of course* you do—you already know that automakers get to push cutting-edge tech in Europe that doesn't fly in the States. Maybe this particular implementation isn't technologically significant or meaningful for safety, but it is inventive, and it's the sort of thing you'd expect to see elsewhere in the world that wouldn't be legal here. Now, if Audi could only do the same with adaptive headlights. *Got a tip? Email tips@thedrive.com*[]() ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()