Audi has a concept version of an all-electric A6 sedan, which will reach all major world markets and be built on a new EV platform that the company is developing with Porsche. A production version will only be announced in the second half of 2022, but the German carmaker is aiming for about 700 kilometers of distance for the new car, called the A6 E-Tron.
The A6 E-Tron concept that Audi showed off at Auto Shanghai 2021 on Monday is pretty simple in terms of concepts, which is consistent with the way the carmaker has handled it lately. The Q4 E-Tron electric sports utility vehicle that Audi just debuted last week is a dead end to the ‘concept’ version it first unveiled at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Although much more details and details will be revealed about the production A6 E-Tron – including the price – what we are seeing now will probably be translated into what will eventually be for sale.
This includes not only a very healthy range target (thanks to a battery capacity of “about 100 kWh”, according to Audi), but a new approach to the A6’s sporty sedan look, as well as a host of high-tech upgrades, especially to Audi’s lighting systems.
First, however, a note on the underlying EV platform. Audi and Porsche call it the Premium Platform Electric, or PPE. The two Volkswagen group companies first started talking about it about a year ago and the larger vehicles in Audi and Porsche’s upcoming electric stables will be in force. This is at least the fourth different EV platform, Audi continues to build its electric motors. Audi has adapted one of its internal combustion platforms to include batteries and electric motors for the original E-Tron and E-Tron Sportback. Audi uses the Porsche Taycan’s J1 platform to power the E-Tron GT. And he builds the Q4 E-Tron and Q4 Sportback E-Tron on Volkswagen’s modular MEB platform.
Many of these ultimately do not matter much to consumers, as it is not as if these Audi EVs will say ‘powered by Porsche’ on the steering wheel or the outside license plate. But there are huge resources in the Volkswagen group – especially as it tries to break Tesla’s earlier grip on the EV market – and Audi is clearly making the most of what is being developed in the larger conglomerate to make a big mark with its to make electric vehicles. .
This is not to say that Audi is not doing its own job. The company has spent years developing electric motor technology for its motorsport division (including a team in the all-electric Formula E series). And in the A6 E-Tron concept, Audi says it will push even a few extra miles out of the PPE’s battery thanks to a special paint that can reflect a significant percentage of the thermal radiation in sunlight, which means drivers rely less on the air conditioning system, which can draw a significant amount of energy.
And anyway, Audi’s cars and sport utility vehicles are just as much about the premium experience in the car as they are about driving them. With that in mind, Audi is calling for some notable upgrades to its already advanced lighting technology with the A6 E-Tron concept.
First, the company says that the so-called “Digital Matrix LED” lights (which are only available outside the US) have been given new capabilities. These lights, which use a complex hatch system to illuminate the LED light in specific shapes and animations, can now project a video game developed by Audi onto a nearby wall or garage door.
Four LED projectors in the corners of the vehicle can create flashing animations on the road. And three of them embedded on either side of the bodywork can do anything, from current messages on the ground for the driver and their passengers to warning cyclists that a door is about to open.
Sedan sales have virtually declined in the U.S. as buyers are still threatened by the high seating and storage space for SUVs and trucks. Car companies – including Audi – are also encouraged to push consumers into these vehicles, which are usually profit centers.
While high-end carmakers are moving further into electric vehicles, they are apparently willing to bet that they can still make the case for these luxury luxury vehicles, as Mercedes-Benz just unveiled last week what is essentially an all-electric S. -Class then. The A6 E-Tron will not be a pound-for-pound competitor on offer, just as the gas-powered A6 does not compete directly with the S-Class with internal combustion. But the draft version announced Monday is a tease in two respects. One, it gives people a rough idea of what they can expect from the final production version of the A6 E-Tron. And second, it’s a first look at what Audi is going to do with the electric cars it’s building on the PPE platform – the same platform that will almost certainly drive electric versions of other high-end A-Series cars.