A glimpse of the future > Future > Audi New Zealand
With its perfect proportions, the Audi A6 e-tron concept* truly embodies the Four Rings’ E design idiom. The all-electric, four-door Sportback offers a sneak preview of tomorrow’s mid-range and executive-class Audi production models with e-drive.
With its perfect proportions, the Audi A6 e-tron concept* truly embodies the Four Rings’ E design idiom. The all-electric, four-door Sportback offers a sneak preview of tomorrow’s mid-range and executive-class Audi production models with e-drive.
The Audi A6 e-tron concept* smoothly picks up the baton in terms of fresh design idiom with perfect proportions first embodied by the Audi e-tron GT*. Its long wheelbase, short overhangs, flattened cabin resting on large wheels, dynamic coupé roofline and soft, evocative contours accentuating the quattro muscles convey the overall impression of a powerful package. Highlighted in color as the heart of the car, the battery keeps the vehicle looking slim and agile when viewed from the side.
As the body’s contours lack hard edges, the shadows cast by convex and concave surfaces fade out softly. Viewed head-on, the Audi A6 e-tron concept* presents a striking face in the shape of the large, enclosed, optically inverted Singleframe designed for maximum streamlining. An aerodynamic spoiler lip wraps around the tail, which also features a high-tech rear diffuser below.
So the Audi A6 e-tron concept*, too, offers living proof that aerodynamics is not just a time-honored area of expertise at the Four Rings but also a core design characteristic. And this is a highly attractive electric vehicle that skillfully fuses form and function. After all, the fact that the Audi A6 e-tron concept¹ boasts a drag coefficient of 0.22 is instrumental to its long electric range.
The Singleframe encloses a large area to optimize air flow.
Set at the base of the A pillar, the exterior mirrors work with cameras, significantly enhancing aerodynamic efficiency.
The Singleframe encloses a large area to optimize air flow.
Set at the base of the A pillar, the exterior mirrors work with cameras, significantly enhancing aerodynamic efficiency.
Progressive lighting technology
Progressive smart is a thread that continues in the slim front headlamp design. Audi designers have developed a video game that the digital Matrix LED headlights can project onto an area of wall in front of the vehicle, spanning several meters. So when the car is charging, occupants can stand directly next to or in front of it and get in on the big gaming action instead of playing on a screen in the cockpit.
As recurrent motifs, digitalization and progressive lighting technology are also prominent at the rear of the Audi A6 e-tron concept*. Thanks to a new generation of digital OLED elements that serve as a display, drivers can choose from a wide range of customizable digital light signatures and dynamic light animations. ´
LED projectors create hazard signs on the ground as a warning that the door is opening, for instance.
LED projectors create hazard signs on the ground as a warning that the door is opening, for instance.
And the special touches in the Audi A6 e-tron concept* don’t end there: Three small, high-resolution LED projectors are integrated into each side of the body. When occupants open the doors, dynamic light animations greet them with words in their home language. More importantly, the projectors also create hazard signs on the ground to warn approaching cyclists, for instance, that the door is opening. Additional LED projectors located at the vehicle’s four corners can produce modifiable indicator projections and thus also provide warnings.
These LED projectors expand the scope of the car’s communicative capabilities beyond the vehicle itself. Thanks to intelligent networking in the vehicle, the Audi A6 e-tron concept* uses visual signals to share information with other road users
Aerodynamics as design characteristic: Air curtain intakes channel the air stream close to the vehicle with precision into the wheel arch.
The rear spoiler functions as an aerodynamic separation edge.
Aerodynamics as design characteristic: Air curtain intakes channel the air stream close to the vehicle with precision into the wheel arch.
The rear spoiler functions as an aerodynamic separation edge.
Forward-looking electric platform
The Audi A6 e-tron concept* is built on the technology architecture of Premium Platform Electric, or PPE for short. As a dedicated battery-electric propulsion platform, the PPE is engineered specifically to fully leverage all of that drive system’s advantages. Positioned between the axles, the battery module—which in the Audi A6 e-tron concept* produces 100 kilowatts of power—is its nerve center. Making use of the entire vehicle base provides a relatively flat layout for the battery.
Naturally, the Premium Platform Electric bears the distinctive Audi stamp in the shape of premium powertrain, chassis, electronics technologies as well as, of course, premium quality standards. So it should come as no surprise that, in the case of the Audi A6 e-tron concept*, that also means quattro drive. Electric motors on both the front and rear axles generate a total output of 350 kilowatts and torque of 800 newton-meters.
With a reach of over 700 kilometers, the Audi A6 e-tron concept* is ready for whatever day-to-day living brings.
Compelling everyday practicality
Standing 1.44 meters tall, the Audi A6 e-tron concept* is 4.96 meters long and 1.96 meters wide. In other words, its proportions are very similar to those of the current Audi A6 or A7. Yet, like all electric vehicles, the interior of the concept car feels very spacious. Eliminating the transmission tunnel and extending the wheelbase makes for lots of room in the interior.
The heart of the Audi A6 e-tron concept* car’s drive technology is its 800-volt charging technology. Thanks to this, drivers who use rapid charging stations can be back on the road in the time it takes for a traditional refueling stop and short coffee break. A mere ten minutes is enough to recharge sufficiently to travel more than 300 kilometers. In under 25 minutes, the 100-kilowatt battery level of the Audi A6 e-tron concept* can be raised from 5 to 80 percent. Depending on the drive variant and output, the coupé can have a WLTP range of more than 700 kilometers.
That’s comparable to conventional combustion engines—and perfectly suited to everyday use. So the Audi A6 e-tron concept¹ checks all the boxes as a first car for the uncompromising: as a family’s sole vehicle or as the ideal, everyday runabout.
Design idiom meets digitalization: The quattro muscle on the wheel arches segues into a digital OLED light display.
Design idiom meets digitalization: The quattro muscle on the wheel arches segues into a digital OLED light display.
