Audi e-tron Quattro Concept teased

More facts and images have been released about the Audi e-tron Quattro Concept that debuts next month at the Frankfurt Auto Show and is set to spawn a production model for 2018. Scaled between the current Q5 and Q7 SUV models, this super-green EV show car is based on the automaker’s Gen II modular longitudinal platform. Its tidy exterior styling reflects Audi’s “Aerosthetics” philosophy that reduces wind-related drag. In this case, movable aerodynamic elements at the front, rear and sides of the vehicle combine with a full underbody fairing to optimize airflow over, around and beneath the vehicle. The net result is a 0.25 coefficient of drag — the best of any SUV to date — and a factor that contributes to a per-charge range in excess of 310 miles.

Motivation for the 4-passdenger e-tron Quattro Concept comes from a variation on the 3-motor design used on the Audi R8 e-tron sports car. A single motor/generator up front is matched with one at each rear wheel to yield an efficient and responsive electric AWD package energized by large lithium-ion battery pack located between the axles and under the passenger compartment floor to optimize balance and weight distribution. 

Expected as a Q6

This thinly disguised version of what is virtually certain to arrive in showrooms wearing a Q6 badge, the e-tron Quattro Concept showcases the latest in Audi lighting technology. The automaker recently confirmed that at least one concept it presents in Frankfurt will be fitted with new production-intent Matrix OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) taillamps. In addition to a production version of e-tron Quattro Concept, Audi AG’s head of technical development, Ulrich Hackenberg, confirmed earlier this year that the automaker will introduce plug-in hybrid models across its entire lineup by decade’s end.