As promised, Audi gave us a taste of the next chapter in its electric car strategy with a new concept car that made its debut at the Shanghai Auto Show on Monday. This is the Audi A6 e-tron.
The Audi A6 e-tron concept is expected to spawn a fully electric production car that will compete with the upcoming Mercedes EQE. And this is not just an A6 packed with batteries and fancy design features. The A6 e-tron concept is built around a brand new architecture called PPE, which is being developed in conjunction with Porsche. That’s a very curious name to use during the Covid-19 pandemic, but apparently PPE in this context stands for ‘Premium Platform Electric’.
The PPE architecture was designed for battery-powered vehicles only, and it will underpin a number of different vehicles in future. Because the wheelbase and battery sizes are scalable, it will be possible for it to underpin both low-slung sedans and high-riding SUVs without any changes to the basic architecture. All PPE vehicles will, however, feature a long wheelbase and short overhangs.
The Audi A6 e-tron has a similar footprint to the regular A6 sedan and features motors on the front and rear axles to allow for on-demand all-wheel drive as well as system outputs of 350 kW and 800 N.m of torque. According to Audi, the flagship models will be able to surge from 0-100 km/h in “well under” four seconds, and even the entry versions will do the deed in less than seven seconds.
Audi says it expects the A6 e-tron to offer a range of more than 700 km between charges, depending on the variant in question, making it “uncompromisingly suitable for use as a primary vehicle”.
The vehicle also boasts 800-volt charging technology, which allows its 100 kWh battery to be charged with up to 270 kW over a very short period at DC fast charging stations. For instance, owners will be able to charge it from 5 to 80 per cent in just 25 minutes, Audi claims, while a 10 minute charge should provide enough juice to cover 300 km.
As mentioned the Audi A6 e-tron will be one of many sedans and crossover to be underpinned by the new PPE platform, the first variants of which are expected to debut in late 2022. In total, Audi plans to have 20 electric models on the road by 2025.
