Audi Teases Electric SUV Concept That’s Almost Definitely the Upcoming Q6

Feel that slight chill in the air? That’s right—summer is on its way out, with a new season right behind it: Teaser Season, the transitional state that precedes Auto Show Season. And the first leaf to blow into our yards is this Audi e-tron Quattro concept sketch, teasing a concept set to debut at this year’s International Motor Show in Frankfurt. It’s pretty much your first look at the upcoming 2019 Audi Q6 crossover SUV-type thing.

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With this all-electric concept crossover, Audi appears to be taking theoretical aim at the Tesla Model X: The German automaker says this concept is powered by three electric motors (two at the rear, one up front) juiced by a lithium-ion battery pack that spans the length of the drivetrain tunnel. Audi says the vehicle has movable aerodynamic elements all around, with a fully closed-off underbody that helps it achieve a 0.25 coefficient of drag, a claimed record in the SUV segment. We’re not entirely sure how one goes about measuring drag on a sketch, but there you have it. Audi also says the concept will have a range of up to 310 miles.

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Audi’s teaser sketches also show a four-seat interior (that battery hump precludes a back-middle seat), with a fancy-schmancy OLED-based touchscreen interface allowing individual climate controls for each passenger.

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The automaker says the concept, which “provides an outlook on the brand’s first large-series electric car,” is based on the second-generation version of the VW group’s MLB modular-longitudinal platform, with “length between that of the Audi Q5 and the Q7.” Reading the tea leaves, we think this means it’s a pretty good glimpse at the eventual design of the production Q6. And while this concept is all-electric, we’ve got a hunch that the production crossover will feature plug-in hybrid and perhaps hydrogen drivetrains as well.

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• 2019 Audi Q6: The Four Rings Take On Tesla
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• The Latest News On the Oft-Delayed Tesla Model X Crossover
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• News, Reviews, Photos, and More on Audi’s Entire 2016 Lineup
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Can Audi’s swoopy, high-shouldered crossover take on the seemingly perpetually delayed Tesla Model X in the alternate-powered crossover market? We’ll have to wait until 2019 to find out. Hey, at least we’ll get to see the real-life concept in Frankfurt next month.

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from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1NuwoEc