Audi’s Q-Series is about to get a baby brother after the long-awaited Audi Q3 is nearing its scheduled release in the second half of 2012.

This news isn’t all that surprising considering that talks about the crossover have been in the pipeline for quite some time now. Recently, though, a bunch of spy photos of the Q3 have began surfacing, giving more credence to the already growing buzz that the crossover is drawing closer and closer to its launch date.

There isn’t a whole lot of juiciness to the photos so getting a good look of the Q3 isn’t possible, but that is what spy shots are all about. Sometimes, you get everything you need in one photo whereas other times, you’re going to have to piece a lot of them together to get a concrete idea of what the car looks like. Nevertheless, we’ve dug up enough information on the Q3 to make up for the graininess of the photos.

Updated 01/21/2011: Audi has confirmed in an official press release that the Q3 will go into production this year Martorell (Spain). Also by 2013 the company will decide on a few other A3 derivatives, including a sedan version.

UPDATE 04/07/11: Audi has officially announced through a press release the official debut of the highly anticipated Audi Q3. For those that have been earnestly waiting to catch a glimpse of the car, the Q3 has officially been penciled in for the Shanghai Auto Show later this month. There are also five sketches of the small SUV that will help you making an idea on how it will look like.

Details after the jump.