The VW Group’s EV onslaught continues.
Audi put on quite a show earlier this year at Auto Shanghai in China where it unveiled not only the stretched A7L Sedan, but also the gorgeous A6 E-Tron Sportback concept. There was another premiere that almost flew under the radar as it didn’t even have a proper name, with the Four Rings simply calling it the Audi Concept Shanghai.
Already confirmed to debut later this year in production guise, the electric SUV has now been caught testing in Europe with German plates. However, that doesn’t mean Audi has plans to sell the EV on the Old Continent. It will be a China-only affair developed in collaboration with local joint venture SAIC as the second Audi-SAIC model after the long-wheelbase A7 sedan.
Gallery: Large Audi electric SUV spy photos
At 4.87 meters (191.7 inches) long, it’s going to be significantly larger than the Q4 E-Tron / Q4 E-Tron Sportback, making it almost as big as the company’s first mass-produced EV, the E-Tron. The newcomer should prove to be more spacious inside by utilizing a dedicated electric vehicle platform rather than using underpinnings initially developed for combustion-engined cars as it’s the case with the MLB Evo-based E-Tron.
What is it? Long story short, we are dealing with Audi’s equivalent of the Volkswagen ID.6 sold exclusively in China. It’s a three-row electric SUV riding on the MEB platform with a wheelbase that should be similar (if not identical) to that of the ID.6, which measures 2,965 mm (116.7 in) between the axles.
Gallery: Audi concept Shanghai
The other technical specifications should be quite similar as we’re expecting the range-topping version to feature a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup with 302 horsepower (225 kilowatts) and 229 pound-feet (310 Newton-meters) of torque. There might be a lesser model with a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive layout, while battery choices should include 58- and 77-kWh packs.
The only piece of the puzzle currently missing is the electric SUV’s final name. It’s certainly not going to be Q6 E-Tron because that is a separate model coming in 2022 on the Premium Platform Electric co-developed with Porsche, with the latter using it for a Macan EV. PPE will also underpin other high-end electric Audis, so it seems unlikely Audi will use Q7 E-Tron or something similar for its MEB-based seven-seat SUV.
Source:
Automedia
Source: Read Full Article