Automotive

Audi A6 Avant e-tron previews fast-charging AWD e-wagon of the future

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Audi introduces the A6 Avant e-tron concept
Audi
Audi gives the A6 Avant e-tron a strong face with solid Singleframe grille area, sharp LED headlamps, and lower and side intakes
Audi
A highlight is the 3D-effect full-width OLED taillight trip
Audi
Audi introduces the A6 Avant e-tron concept
Audi
The A6 Avant e-tron comes powered by a 470-hp pair of motors
Audi
The Avant concept uses the upcoming PPE platform for fast 800-V charging
Audi
The Avant concept measures 496 cm long
Audi
The A6 Avant e-tron could offer a range of performance with 0-62 mph times as low as 4 seconds
Audi
Audi spent time optimizing the Avant's aerodynamics for a 0.24 drag coefficient
Audi
The Avant concept rides on 22-in wheels
Audi
Audi plans to reveal the first Premium Platform Electric (PPE) vehicles in 2023
Audi
Audi says the Avant could zap in 300 km worth of charge in 10 minutes
Audi
Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept
Audi
The Avant follows up last year's A6 e-tron sportback concept
Audi
The A6 Avant e-tron has projector headlamps that would allow the driver and passenger to play a big-screen game while charging
Audi
The Audi A6 e-tron concept family
Audi
Look at the dual-motor powertrain
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Critical electrical hardware
Audi
View gallery - 17 images

Following up on last year's A6 e-tron sportback concept, Audi has tacked on D-pillars, stretched the rear-end and created the A6 Avant e-tron concept. The handsome electric estate teases a future in which Audi fills out its EV portfolio with a capable business-class electric wagon able to carry the family on trips up to 435 miles per charge. Thanks to a next-gen 800-V architecture being co-developed with Porsche, trips longer than 435 miles are still convenient and drivers can suck in 300 kilometers worth of electricity in the time it takes for a bathroom-and-snack break.

The A6 Avant e-tron isn't a lightly disguised near-production preview, but it isn't a future-fantasy concept, either. Audi explains that the car's "lines and elegant proportions preview future Audi production models and offer clues about how dynamic and elegant the electrically-powered luxury class will look."

Audi spent time optimizing the Avant's aerodynamics for a 0.24 drag coefficient
Audi

So expect to see some of the design cues at dealerships in the future. As with last year's A6 e-tron sportback sedan concept, the Avant concept's profile is heavily sculpted by the wind tunnel, resulting in a 0.24 coefficient of drag. From the front 3/4 angles, the Avant appears to taper in three-dimensionally, its roofline dropping slowly but noticeably into the spoiler-topped D pillar, while side recesses draw the flanks inward as they flow toward the rear haunches. The spoiler is joined by a dramatic rear diffuser in handling airflow around the rear-end.

OLED and LED technology feature heavily in the A6 Avant e-tron, and the car houses more projectors than a small movie theater. Three small high-resolution LED projectors on each side create a warm welcome, greeting driver and passengers with personalized messages when the doors are opened. During the ride, those projectors cast warnings to other road users onto the street, and a separate set of four high-res projectors at the corners does the same for turn signals. Back in the parking lot, Audi's Digital Matrix LED headlights also double as projectors, casting images onto a wall in a way that would allow users to play games in XXL format, for example. Out back, Audi incorporates 3D OLED taillight effects for further visual flair.

A highlight is the 3D-effect full-width OLED taillight trip
Audi

Porsche has already shown what it can do with an 800-V electrical architecture, and it is currently working on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) with Audi for the next generation of EVs. The platform will underpin future electric vehicles from both badges, including the upcoming electric Porsche Macan crossover.

Audi previews its own use of the PPE, filling the Avant e-tron's underfloor out with a 100-kWh battery pack that spans the wheelbase. That battery powers the concept's 470-hp (350-kW) front- and rear-motor combo for the road trip-worthy range of 435 miles (700 km). Beyond that, the 800-V PPE architecture supports charging speeds up to 270 kW, which Audi estimates would add 186 miles (300 km) of power to the Avant's battery in about 10 minutes, going on to push total charge from 5 to 80 percent in less than 25 minutes.

The motor duo puts out up to 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of immediate torque, and Audi estimates 0-62 mph (100 km/h) acceleration times between 7 seconds for the most efficient Avant spec down to below 4 seconds for high-performance variants. The concept smooths out the ride with adaptively damped air suspension.

The A6 Avant e-tron has projector headlamps that would allow the driver and passenger to play a big-screen game while charging
Audi

The A6 Avant e-tron and A6 e-tron sportback are the first Audi concept series to showcase PPE tech, which will underpin production Audis to debut in 2023. The scalable platform will enable Audi to develop EVs in a variety of body styles and sizes.

Source: Audi

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5 comments
Thud
Beautiful but those diffusers? They're too big and look out of place.
Noah Tall
Wow!! Those people sure as shootin' make the most immaculate precision well ordered driving machines the world has ever known.
Perhaps you can teach your cousins how to pave and maintain the roads, fix the pot holes.
Jimmy the Geek
Call me cynical, but do you suppose it was a purposeful deception to switch units from miles per full charge to km per quick recharge? A reader who is not paying attention might think that you get two thirds of a full "tank" during your "bathroom-and-snack break". My chemistry professors would roll over and give me a strong fail on that slippery one.
Username
@Jimmy, Good catch!
Eddy
Nice machine but doesn't it complicate the rollout of standard chargers if manufacturers start using their own various high voltage architecture or are the chargers smart enough to recognize the type of plug inserted from increasingly various makes and set the charge voltage automatically, assuming they all have high voltage to start with. Higher voltages and therefore less current and heat will also avoid having the charging cables too thick and heavy to handle.