Audi unveils A6 Avant e-tron concept estate with 700 km range

Today Audi has unveiled the second half of its A6 EV journey, following on from the A6 e-tron concept revealed last year. It's now joined by the A6 Avant e-tron concept, and if you're unfamiliar with Audi's brands, Avant basically stands for 'estate'. Or 'wagon', if that's how you'd rather say it.

The A6 Avant e-tron is a "production-oriented" concept car using the Premium Platform Electric, or PPE, which was developed together with Porsche. The first Audi production cars based on this platform will arrive on the market next year. PPE is made for SUVs and CUVs with high ground clearance but also cars with low ride height like the A6 series.

As usual with concepts, Audi hasn't unveiled all possible specs here, but there are some still, and they're intriguing. The A6 Avant e-tron comes with a 100 kWh net capacity battery, which should enable 700 km (435 miles) of range using the WLTP cycle testing. Charging can be done at up to 270 kW DC thanks to the car's 800V system, and if you happen to find such a charger you can get 300 km (186 miles) of range in just 10 minutes. To take the battery from 5% to 80% you'll need 25 minutes.

The A6 Avant e-tron is 4.96 m long (16.3 feet), 1.96 m wide (6.4 feet), and 1.44 m tall (4.7 feet). That makes it similar to current A6/A7 series models. Acceleration should take under four seconds from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph), thanks to the two electric motors delivering a total of 350 kW (475 hp) of power and 800 Nm of torque.

The concept's lines and proportions "anticipate future Audi production models", although it's unclear how much of the concept will make it to production next year. The Avant's aerodynamic coefficient is 0.24, and it sports 22" wheels and short overhangs. The exterior mirrors are camera-based, while on the front you get a large enclosed Singleframe grille, bordered at the bottom by deep air intakes for cooling the drivetrain, battery, and brakes. On the rear you have a diffuser with two huge air outlets, which channel the air that flows underneath in a manner that reduces turbulence.

The headlights use Digital Matrix LED and OLED tech, achieving "almost cinematic quality", allowing you to play a video game projected by the headlights onto a wall in front of the car while it's charging.

There are also three small high-resolution LED projectors which transform the ground beneath them into a stage with dynamic effects when the doors are opened. The projectors also display warning symbols on the ground - for example, to warn a bike rider that the door is about to open.

Another four high-res LED projectors are integrated into the corners of the EV and generate turn signal projections, the design of which can be modified for specific markets. On the rear there's basically a 3D dynamic light show made possible by OLED elements.

Audi says both the A6 e-tron and this A6 Avant e-tron concepts should finally become real cars sometime in 2023. Hopefully the actual production vehicles will resemble these concepts as much as the company has been hinting, but there's only one way to find out and that is to wait and see.