ABOUT a yr after revealing the A6 Sportback e-tron idea, Audi has unveiled an arrestingly styled property model of the long run mannequin, which is underpinned by a brand new modular BEV platform that the Ingolstadt-based agency is co-developing with Porsche.
The primary Audi manufacturing autos constructed on the VW Group’s Premium Platform Electrical (PPE) structure shall be unveiled subsequent yr and the agency says the A6 Avant e-tron idea, completed in a Neptune Valley gray hue, presents “clues about how dynamic and chic the electrically powered luxurious class from the four-ringed model will look”.
“With the Audi A6 Avant e-tron idea, we’re providing a very tangible have a look at future manufacturing fashions on our new PPE know-how platform,” mentioned Audi board member for technical improvement, Oliver Hoffmann.
“We’re not simply electrifying the Avant’s profitable 45-year historical past. What we wish most of all is to make use of technical abilities so as to add an exclamation level. This consists of 800-volt know-how, 270 kW of charging capability, and a WLTP vary of as much as 700 km.”
The A6 Avant e-tron idea is 4960mm lengthy, 1960mm broad and stands 1440mm tall, making it barely longer, wider and decrease than the current-generation mannequin.
With its dynamic proportions and sinuous traces, together with the Avant rump that’s so attribute of the model, it’s clear the idea’s form was refined in a wind tunnel.
Audi says the Avant’s drag coefficient of 0.24 – 0.02 increased than final yr’s Sportback idea – is “unprecedented within the electrified C-segment”.
The entrance of the wagon idea is dominated by a big enclosed single-frame grille, which is bordered on the backside by deep air intakes. The flat headlights (with Digital Matrix LED and digital OLED know-how) prolong into the edges of the laterally sweeping entrance finish and underscore the horizontally aligned physique structure.
The flanks function glossy, camera-based digital exterior mirrors on the bases of the A-pillars, whereas the wheel arches – housing nearly cartoonishly giant 22-inch wheels – are linked by a black inlay that’s mentioned to be a specifically sculpted battery space above the aspect skirts.
LED projectors are constructed into both sides of the physique to create dynamic lighting results that “greet occupants with messages in their very own language”.
The wagon’s gently sloping roof arch with slanted D-pillar is typical of Audi Avant window design, whereas the rear-end is highlighted by a spoiler with colored trim and a diffuser with a pair of generously sized air shops built-in into the bumper.
A pair of electrical motors – one on every axle, therefore the quattro all-wheel drive – delivers mixed outputs of 350 kW and 800 Nm and are mentioned to propel the flagship model of the A6 Avant e-tron from zero to 100km/h in “effectively beneath 4.0 seconds”.
By advantage of the 800V charging know-how, the idea’s battery – mentioned to have a capability of “round 100 kWh” – might be recharged at as much as 270kW DC.
Aside from a claimed single-charge vary of as much as 700km, Audi says about 300km of vary might be added in 10 minutes when the car is plugged into an appropriate speedy charging station.
Suffice to say, the A6 Avant e-tron idea’s cabin is capacious, with Audi claiming the prolonged wheelbase permits a “longer inside and extra legroom in each rows of seats”.
As well as, the underfloor positioning of the battery pack and the absence of a standard transmission tunnel lead to an excellent roomier inside.
Though there are die-hard followers of the Avant physique form, it stays to be seen if the manufacturing model of the idea shall be supplied in all markets, not to mention Australia.
Nevertheless, Audi additionally mentioned it deliberate to utilise the scalable PPE platform for upcoming small and medium fashions, which have been the highest-volume segments for the German premium model (courtesy of the A3 and A4) for a number of many years.
In that sense, the A6 Avant e-tron is certainly a harbinger of what’s to come back.
