Audi h-tron quattro concept unveiled – UPDATE

Design-wise, the new h-tron quattro looks to be a lightly remixed version of the e-tron quattro that made its debut the Frankfurt motor show towards the end of 2015.

Externally, the clearest sign that you're looking at the new h-tron variant is the SUV's eye-catching yellow paint work and its new set of turbine-style alloy wheels.

Under the skin, the h-tron features a 90kW electric motor powering the front axle and a 140kW unit for the rear axle. These two units are powered by 110kW hydrogen fuel cell, located up front, and a lithium-ion battery pack that can deliver up to 100kW. Total system torque is rated at 550Nm.

The h-tron quattro's hydrogen fuel tanks are located under the passenger and luggage compartments, and can be refilled in around four minutes. A full set of tanks are said to provide a driving range of up to 600km.

Audi claims that the h-tron is capable of a 0-100km/h time of under seven seconds, while the top speed is electronically limited to 200km/h.

Among its other features, the h-tron quattro is home to the "world’s largest in-car solar roof" that's capable of generating up to 320W. According to Audi, the trick roof can provide up to 1000km of extra range every year.

The h-tron quattro is also fitted out with the company's latest suite of radars, video cameras and ultrasonic sensors. Information from all these units is combined together by the latest-generation central driver assistance system (zFAS) to produce an accurate real-time model of the car's surroundings.

This data is then fed into the vehicle's various driver assistance systems, including the automated parking feature and an autopilot that can drive the car on motorways, even during stop/start traffic, at speeds up to 60km/h. These assisted driving features will debut in the next-generation A8, which is due to debut in 2017.

The new h-tron quattro considerably less powerful and slower than its e-tron quattro counterpart. The pure battery-powered e-tron quattro features two motors for the rear axle and one for the front.

Under regular driving, the e-tron quattro has 320kW of power and 800Nm of torque at its disposal. In launch mode, the e-tron quattro briefly has 370kW of power at its command.

The e-tron quattro's 0-100km/h time is said to 4.6 seconds, while top speed is limited to 210km/h.

Update

Audi AG chairman Rupert Stadler told CarAdvice in Detroit today that the h-tron will likely reach production around 2020, two years after the e-tron (expected to be called Q6 e-tron).