Audi electric concept teased
Audi has teased a concept that previews the fourth member of its electric vehicle range.
From the company that brought you such shapely sportbacks as the A5, A7 and upcoming e-tron GT comes another fashionable five-door, and like the e-tron GT it'll be a pure-electric vehicle.
Auto Express reports the concept will use the PPE platform co-developed by Audi and Porsche and will be roughly the same size as the A7.
The combination of a large-ish hatchback silhouette and electric drivetrain may sound like the forthcoming e-tron GT, however that car uses the J1 platform shared with the Porsche Taycan.
J1 has been designed for high-performance applications, while the PPE platform will underpin large sedans, hatchbacks, wagons and SUVs and has been designed for maximum electric range and refinement.
Though we don’t have x-ray specs, the teaser appears to show a car that – while still svelte – isn’t quite as slinky as the e-tron GT. It also appears to have a roofline slightly higher than the A7, likely to compensate for the battery pack below.
The front-end treatment is markedly different to existing Audis, both electric and ICE-powered. Though it still retains a bold, single-frame visage like every Audi for more than a decade, there’s nothing to suggest air intakes.
Should this front-end treatment be used on the production car, as well as any other forthcoming electric Audis, it would make for an easy way to distinguish electric and ICE-powered models in the line-up.
When the production version of this concept joins the Audi line-up, it will be the fourth electric Audi. Audi’s electric range will then use four different platforms: PPE for this car; J1 for the e-tron GT; a modified MLB Evo platform for the e-tron crossover; and the MEB platform for the Q4 e-tron.
It appears Audi will use the PPE for larger vehicles, MEB for smaller vehicles, and J1 for more overtly sporty vehicles.
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