Audi turns Q6 e-tron into extreme off-roader

David Linklater
  • Sign in required

    Please sign in to your account to add a vehicle to favourite

  • Share this article

It's a Q6 e-tron, but not as you know it.

It's a Q6 e-tron, but not as you know it.

Audi says its Q6 e-tron offroad concept "showcases the potential of the PPE platform" and represents a "potential vehicle in the progressive off-road segment'.

Audi Q6 e-tron offroad concept.
And you thought Porsche was the extreme brand; ride height up by 160mm.

We reckon the company got carried away with computer assisted design (CAD) after Friday night drinks.

Anyway, using the Q6 e-tron (Audi's new pure-electric SUV, which shares its PPE platform with the Porsche Macan) as its starting point, the offroad concept boasts an increase in ride height of a whopping 160mm and a 250mm-wider track.

“The Q6 e-tron offroad concept is a reinterpretation of quattro," says Audi CEO Gernot Döllner.

Audi Q6 e-tron offroad concept.
Top speed is down to 175km/h, but it can climb 45-degree gradients.

"This vehicle can claim new ground. We look forward to seeing our customers’ reactions to this highly emotive car.”

It's not all show. The Q6 e-tron offroad concept employs portal axles: a design commonly used in military vehicles that lifts the height of the axle (and differential housing) above the wheel hub, increasing ground clearance. 

Audi Q6 e-tron offroad concept.
A new design of portal axle is the key to incredible 4x4 ability. But would you buy one?

A set of gears connects the axle shaft to the wheel hub, which can give massively increased ground clearance and a wider wheel track.

While conventional portal axles enable an increase in torque of around 20-30% at the wheels, a new design from Audi increases torque at the wheel by 50%. This lowers the vehicle’s top speed to just 175km/h, but enables it to climb gradients up to 45 degrees.

Audi claims its concept creates a "highly emotive electric vehicle". It's certainly high.

Gallery