Audi A6 E-tron Concept at Shanghai Motor Show

Audi is resolutely pushing ahead with its “e-volution” towards electric mobility and will be unveiling the forerunner of an innovative family of fully electric, production cars – the four-door Audi A6 e-tron concept – at the Auto Shanghai 2021 show. A completely new technology architecture, the “Premium Platform Electric,” or PPE for short, will serve as the technology platform for these vehicles in the future.

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Sporting the Audi A6 emblem, the concept car underscores its place in the brand’s luxury-class model series. This model has represented the brand in one of the world’s highest-volume segments since 1968 – initially, and until 1994, as the Audi 100. First the Sedan, Avant, and allroad, then later the Sportback – which was introduced as the A7 – rounded out the model family. An electrified drive system already has a long tradition in the Audi A6.

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Unlike the latter, however, the Audi A6 e-tron concept being exhibited at the Auto Shanghai 2021 show relies exclusively on electric power, based on the future PPE platform developed under Audi’s leadership. At the same time, it also represents an entirely new design concept – the only thing it has in common with the current A6 are its dimensions. The 4.96-meter-long, 1.96-meter-wide, and 1.44-meter-high body is designed as a Sportback, and its lines are an obvious reflection of the systematic advancement of Audi’s current design language.

The Audi A6 e-tron concept exterior model making its debut in Shanghai is far more than just a simple design exercise – its body is a foretaste of Audi’s future production models and provides clear indications of just how dynamic and elegant the electric-powered luxury class from the brand with the four rings will look.

For its part, the PPE technology will ensure that what the car’s lines imply is actually translated into dynamic driving performance and everyday suitability befitting use as a primary vehicle. Specifically, this means that depending on the selected drive system and model version, an Audi A6 e-tron is expected to boast a range of more than 700 kilometers (based on the WLTP standard) in the future – and the most powerful members of the family will sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in less than four seconds.

E for e-tron, E for elegant – the Audi A6 e-tron concept’s design
Based on its dimensions, the Audi A6 e-tron concept is clearly a representative of the luxury class – 4.96 meters in length, 1.96 meters in width, and 1.44 meters in height, the same as the current members of the Audi A6/A7 series. With its dynamic proportions and elegant lines, including the fastback design typical of the brand, it’s obvious at first glance that this vehicle was conceived in a wind tunnel.

Aerodynamics has always played a key role in Audi’s long history of success in the luxury class. The cW value of the Audi 100/C3 remains legendary – at the time it was the aerodynamics world champion across all classes, and with its cW value of 0.30, Audi was already far outperforming its competitors as early as 1982, and continued to do so for many years to come. With its flowing lines, the third generation of the Audi 100 also revolutionized and profoundly transformed automotive design in the luxury class, which until then had been highly conservative.

Large 22-inch wheels and short overhangs, the flat cabin, and the wide coupe roof arch give the vehicle proportions distinctly reminiscent of a sports car. The absence of hard edges results in smooth transitions between convex and concave surfaces throughout the body, as well as in soft shadows. The Audi A6 e-tron concept appears monolithic, as if from a single mold – particularly when viewed from the side.

The wheel arches are connected by the specially sculpted battery area above the rocker panel, which is highlighted with a black inlay – a design element that is now a hallmark of the Audi brand’s fleet of electric vehicles. Also typical of Audi e-tron models are the sleek, camera-based virtual exterior mirrors at the base of the A-pillar.

“Heliosilver” is the name of the technoid-looking color of the paint, which in turn adds aesthetic presence and functionality to the appearance of the Audi A6 e-tron concept.

See and be seen – the Audi A6 e-tron concept’s lighting technology
The flat headlights and taillights are slim and flush with the overall composition of the lines. Digital Matrix LED and digital OLED technology makes it possible to achieve maximum brightness and a wide range of features even with a minimal surface area, while at the same time offering customizable light signatures. The team of Audi lighting designers and developers has once again done an amazing job – this concept car packs a host of new features and personalization options into its lighting units.

Three small, high-resolution LED projectors are built in into each side of the body, transforming the ground beneath them into a stage when the doors are opened – small extended dynamic lighting effects greet the occupants with messages in their own language. At the premiere in Shanghai, this means in Chinese characters, of course.

One new feature in the taillights is the three-dimensional architecture of the digital OLED elements, that – adapted to the shape of the body – makes it possible to perfectly integrate the night design into the overall look. This makes it possible to experience the dynamic light show not only in two dimensions – as was previously the case – but with an impressive, 3D spatial effect.

High ground clearance and low ride height
The PPE is designed exclusively for battery-electric drive systems and can therefore take full advantage of all the benefits of this technology. The key element of the future PPE fleet is a battery module between the axles that holds around 100 kWh of energy in the A6 e-tron concept. The use of the entire vehicle base makes it possible to achieve a relatively flat layout for the battery. This means that for the first time, it will be possible to use this single platform for both vehicles with a high ground clearance and vehicles with a decidedly dynamic, flat architecture – such as the Audi A6 e-tron concept – without any changes to the basic architecture.

Fast charging, high range
The heart of the Audi A6 e-tron concept’s drive technology – and that of all future PPE models – is the 800-volt charging technology. Like the Audi e-tron GT before it, this ensures that the Audi A6 e-tron concept’s battery can be charged with up to 270 kW in a very short time at fast-charging stations.

This technology makes charging times possible that come close to a stop to refuel a car powered by a conventional engine. Just 10 minutes are enough to charge the battery to a level sufficient to power the car more than 300 kilometers. And in less than 25 minutes, you can charge the Audi A6 e-tron concept’s 100 kWh battery from 5 to 80 percent.

Together with a range of more than 700 kilometers – depending on the selected drive system and power output – the Audi A6 e-tron concept is uncompromisingly suitable for use as a primary vehicle.

PPE – Versatile, variable, electric
2018 saw the debut of the Audi’s first fully electric production vehicle – the Audi e-tron. Since then, in less than three years, the brand has systematically and rapidly pushed ahead with the widespread introduction of electric mobility across its entire product range. Following the Audi
e-tron SUV and e-tron Sportback, the highly dynamic e-tron GT – based on a new technology platform developed jointly with Porsche AG – made its debut in February 2021. And just two months later, the Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron premiered – two extremely unique SUVs in the A-segment with a common technological platform, the Volkswagen Group’s MEB. The Audi Q2 L e-tron, which is also all-electric, has also been available exclusively in the Chinese market since 2019.

The Audi A6 e-tron concept is now the first member of a family of vehicles – initially in the C-segment and later also in the B- and D-segments – that is based on another innovative technology platform: the Premium Platform Electric, or PPE for short. This modular system is being developed under Audi’s leadership together with Porsche AG. The first Audi production vehicles built on the PPE platform will be successively unveiled starting in the second half of 2022.

PPE is the first platform designed to accommodate an unprecedented range of high-volume automobiles – including SUVs and CUVs with a high ground clearance as well as cars with a low ride height that are part of Audi’s core product range, such as the Audi A6 series. But there are also plans to expand the PPE range into the B-segment, which has been the highest-volume market segment for Audi for decades.

As a result, Audi can effectively expand the range of electric vehicles in its portfolio – via the high-volume B- and C-segments. In addition, economies of scale will allow luxury-class technology and various different model versions to be incorporated into a wide-ranging lineup of models that is unrivaled in the premium market.

In addition, fleet consumption and CO2 emissions also benefit.