Audi A6 e-tron Concept Gives Us An Electrifying Preview Of The Next A6

Hot on the heels of last week’s Q4 e-tron and the e-tron GT from earlier this year, Audi has unveiled the A6 e-tron concept at the 2022 Shanghai Motor show.

It’s said that the only thing this concept shares with the “traditional” A6 is its dimensions, measuring 4.96 m (195.3 in) long, 1.96 m (77.2 in) wide, and 1.44 m (56.7 in) high. It’s a bold statement from a company that intends to offer more electric vehicles to US consumers than any other luxury brand by the end of 2021.

The A6 e-tron concept previews the first Audi to be built on the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) platform. Others expected to join in 2022 will be the Q5 e-tron and Q6 e-tron. The platform has been developed together with Porsche and will also support the next generation electric Macan. Audi says they will unveil the first production vehicles based on the PPE platform in the second half of 2022.

The concept’s design looks like it’ll stick around largely unchanged for a production version. Although this is dubbed as the A6 e-tron, it’s a “Sportback,” i.e., a five-door coupe. Now, there hasn’t really been an A6 Sportback of late because that model was known as the A7. But this concept isn’t an A7 – it’s an A6. Go figure.

There was some concern with the unveiling of the Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron that Audi’s design language was moving away from the sharper angles and creases that they’ve embraced for their current lineup. But the A6 e-tron concept looks to embrace the more traditional design language we’ve come to know, albeit with some notable changes.

As you’d expect for an electric car, aerodynamics are essential; a slippery shape is needed to minimize air resistance and maximize range. The A6 e-tron concept proves to be slicker than the production e-tron GT, sporting an impressive cW figure of 0.22 to the GT’s 0.24. The fastback design is known to be aerodynamically efficient, while the A6 e-tron is also helped by an aggressive diffuser that channels air to reduce turbulence.

That intricately sculpted black inlay on the lower side represents the battery area. Simultaneously, the biggest giveaway of the A6 e-tron’s electric credentials is the large closed-off grille up front. This center-piece is bordered both bottom and side by several functional air intakes, used to cool the drivetrain components and battery.

The concept is painted in “Heliosilver,” a color Audi says enhances the aesthetic presence of the Audi A6 e-tron concept with a “three-dimensional depth effect.” But it’s not just for looks. Audi says this paint can reflect a significant percentage of the thermal radiation in sunlight, thus reducing the amount of energy that enters the car’s body and, above all, its interior. It’s so good at rejecting thermal heat that Audi states occupants won’t have to use the car’s air-conditioning system in many situations.

A hallmark of modern Audis has been their lighting systems, with dynamic and fluid LED light arrays adding a large chunk of character to their modern designs and functionality. The A6 e-tron concept takes that a step further as its Digital Matrix LED front headlights can achieve almost cinematic quality. Acting as mini-projectors (in the old-fashioned sense of the term), the A6 e-tron can project a multi-player video game onto a wall in front of it — which we guess can be helpful at keeping a driver and passenger entertained while recharging.

The A6 e-tron concept gets new 3D-affect lights in the rear. It’s a new generation of digital OLED elements that act as a display as a continuous strip of lights. They can also create almost unlimited customizable variations of digital light signatures, while the dynamic lighting display can be adapted to the customer’s personal taste.

The A6 e-tron concept carries a 100 kW battery located in the center of the car on the scalable and purpose-built-for-EVs PPE platform. It shares the 800-watt charging tech with the e-tron GT, allowing fast charge speeds with a compatible charger. Audi boasts that just 10 minutes are enough to charge the battery to a level sufficient to power the car more than 300 km (186 miles), and it takes less than 25 minutes to get from 5 to 80 percent of charge. Audi claims the total range for this concept car is over 700 km (435 miles).

The A6 e-tron concept sports a dual-motor set-up with 350 kW (470 hp) and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft) of torque that gives the car all-wheel-drive. Audi says that entry-level models, which will presumably feature only one motor powering a single axle, will accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) in around seven seconds, while high-performance variants will make the sprint in less than four.

As the name implies, the new PPE architecture is specific for cars with premium aspirations. It supports longer wheelbase form factors than the MEB platform used to underpin the production Audi Q4 e-tron. Meanwhile, the lower-volume Audi e-tron GT sits on the J1 platform, along with the Porsche Taycan.

The A6 e-tron concept is the first to adopt the PPE platform, which will underpin cars initially in the C-segment and later also in the B- and D-segments. We’ll have to wait until the latter half of next year to see just what form any PPE-based car will take, although it’s already been confirmed that a Q6 e-tron that rides on this new architecture will emerge in 2022.

Audi EVs based on the PPE will be manufactured both in Europe and China, with the automaker strengthening their partnership with Chinese manufacturer First Automobile Works (FAW) to facilitate this. However, Porsche has dismissed the idea of manufacturing outside of Germany, meaning that the PPE-based next-gen Macan will not be made in the People’s Republic.

Unlike the J1 platform that the e-tron GT rides on, the PPE will become the backbone for volume sellers, with many Audi models expected to utilize the economies of scale this one premium platform will offer. It has also been designed to provide high ground clearance when needed. This will ensure that it’ll underpin SUVs and crossovers, including the Q5 e-tron as well as the Q6 e-tron.

carscoops