Thanks to "D*isuke" of the Japanese "PENTAX Q Unofficial FAN Site", we have the following interview of the Q development story:-
http://pc.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/interview/20110901/1036590/?P=2
(in Japanese, Excite English Translation Here)
Update (9-19): The access right of the above article has been changed and now be read only by registered members of the website.
The 4-page interview contains first-hand official information about the whole development of the Q, some development photos, including the Q mock-ups, are disclosed for the first time. You can also see the faces of the designers/developers of the Q and know their names, of course. :-)
Last but not least, it is told that the project was first started back to 2003 with an aim to make a digital version of the Auto 110. The project was then lately revived in 2009, after suspension for quite some time, only when a Hoya big guy saw the digital Auto 110 prototype and found it to be "interesting". So, btw, Ned's guys were wrong the last time in their interview with TWICE, as in neither case the Q was designed for five years, i.e., it should be either eight years or just two!