Aug 10, 2022 at 11:41am ET
The Audi A6 E-Tron electric sedan is under development on some gorgeous alpine roads. This video of its testing provides a close-up look at the upcoming EV.
The production-spec A6 E-Tron has a strong resemblance to the concept for the four-door. There are small tweaks like increasing the size of the lower portion of the split headlights. The inlets in the corners are less prominent on the road-going version. The trapezoidal opening in the center of the lower fascia is bigger.
Gallery: Audi A6 E-Tron Sedan Spy Photos
The development engineers appear to be torture testing the brakes during a portion of this video. The A6 E-Tron has its emergency lights on and is driving slowly down the mountain. Occasionally, you can hear the brakes squeal.
The similarity with the Audi A6 E-Tron concept is most noticeable when viewing the vehicles in profile. There's a sleek roofline with an arching shape that flows to a short rear deck. The specifics are hard to see because of the camouflage, but there appears to be delicate sculpting along the flanks.
This A6 E-Tron development vehicle wears placeholder taillights. The concept has full-width lamps with a pixel-like design. The rear diffuser on the production model appears to be smaller than the concept.
More Spy Shots Of The A6 E-Tron:
The A6 E-Tron rides on the Premium Platform Electric [PPE] platform. We don't have any info yet about the production-spec powertrain. The concept has an electric motor powering each axle with a total output of 470 horsepower [350 kilowatts] and 590 pound-feet [800 Newton-meters]. Audi estimates this is enough to reach 62 miles per hour [100 kilometers per hour] quicker than 4.0 seconds.
The production model's battery is also a mystery. The concept has a 100-kilowatt-hour pack offering an estimated range of over 435 miles [700 kilometers] in the WLTP test. The fast-charging system operates at up to 270 kilowatts, meaning plugging in for 10 minutes can provide up to 186 miles [300 kilometers] of range.
The A6 E-Tron should debut in production form later this year, and it would join Audi's range for the 2024 model year. A wagon version is also coming, but this one might not go on sale in the United States.
Source: Automedia
Audi has been snapped testing a faster version of its Q6 e-tron SUV at the Nurburgring.
Potentially an S or RS model, the Q6 e-tron pictured here has a sportier front bumper than the regular car we’ve also seen testing recently. It also has bigger wheels, and red brake calipers hiding behind them.
The split-level headlights are in keeping what we’ve seen from previous prototypes, and from what we’re expecting from the next Audi A6, while the slim tail lights share their LED signatures with the latest A3.
It would make sense for Audi to be developing a proper performance version of the Q6, given it’ll share its underpinnings [dubbed PPE] with the overtly performance-oriented Porsche Macan EV.
Cars based on PPE are expected to offer features like all-wheel steering, an 800V electrical system with fast charging up to 350kW, and torque vectoring.
The Q6 e-tron is expected to offer a range of single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrains, with range of up to 480km.
A dual-motor RS Q6 e-tron could pump out as much as 440kW of power. The RS e-tron GT, for reference, produces 440kW of power [475kW in boost mode] and 830Nm of torque, good for a 0-100km/h time of 3.3 seconds.
The Q6 e-tron will slot into a sprawling line-up of Audi SUVs, which will continue to include combustion-powered models until 2033 – and potentially beyond in China.
Previous spy photographs have also given us a glimpse of the Q6 e-tron’s screen set-up, consisting of a large, free-standing digital instrument cluster and a tablet-style central touchscreen.
It could be 2024 by the time we see the Q6 e-tron, which was initially meant to launch during 2023.
Reports from Europe quoting sources within Audi and Porsche suggest challenges at the Volkswagen Group’s software subsidiary, Cariad, are to blame.
One may argue that this is not the first time we see the next Audi Q6 e-Tron out testing. However, so far, we've only seen the Q6 e-Tron as an SUV. But these new spy shots reveal that the Ingolstadt company is also working on a Q6 e-Tron SUV Coupe. With the standard Q6 e-Tron expected to debut sometime in late 2022, the Sportback version will arrive about six months later, so sales should begin in late 2023.
Update 8-4-2022: The 2024 Audi Q6 E-Tron Sportback was spotted again. See the latest spy shots below!
Spy Shots 8-4-2022
*Photos in these section are courtesy of CarPix
What's going to be different on the Audi Q6 e-tron Sportback?
The standard Audi Q6 e-Tron SUV already revealed its front end in a series of previous spy shots, and of course the Sportback version will feature the same design. It will have a huge grille, a front bumper inspired by the recently launched e-Tron sedan, huge air intakes, and the new split headlights - which seem to be a new thing lately.
While the prototype is heavily camouflaged, we can still spot a few design elements. For example, when compared to the current e-Tron Sportback, the future Q6 e-Tron Sportback will feature completely different taillights. Also, the loading edge is much lower, and the third brake light is integrated into the small spoiler and not in the rear window like in the current model, while the rear window goes down lower.
What will power the next Audi Q6 e-tron Sportback?
Just like the future Q6 e-Tron, the Sportback version will be built on the same platform as the future Porsche Macan EV and the A6 e-Tron. We are talking of course about the Premium Platform Electric [PPE] - a modular platform developed exclusively for electric vehicles by Porsche, Audi, and Bentley. It has been rumored many times that, just like the A6 e-Tron sedan, the Q6 e-Tron will be offered with the same powertrain as the A6 e-Tron Concept. The latter featured two electric motors and had a combined power output of 476 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. The concept featured a 100-kWh battery and promised a range of 434 miles, so you should expect similar numbers in the production version too. Also, when compared to the model it replaces, the Q6 e-Tron will offer a more sophisticated drive, that will have air suspension, torque vectoring, all-wheel drive, and all-wheel steering. There will also be an RS version which is rumored to deliver up to 600 horsepower!
When will the Audi Q6 e-tron Sportback arrive?
Audi will unveil the new Q6 e-Tron before the end of 2022, which means the Sportback version will arrive about six months later with sales to begin in late 2023. According to Audi CEO Markus Duessman, the new Q6 e-Tron will be positioned midway between the Q4 e-Tron and the mainstay zero-emission e-Tron SUV.