Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept: This is what the next station wagon from Ingolstadt looks like

Created: 03/18/2022Updated: 03/18/2022 07:10

By: Marcus Efler

With the next generation of the A6, Audi is radically changing its design.

The first photos of the A6 Avant e-tron concept study reveal quite precisely what the popular station wagon will soon look like.

Ingolstadt – It's a tricky balancing act between tradition and future: Most car manufacturers have officially committed themselves to electromobility, and Audi was one of the first*.

On the other hand, they still earn most of their money with conventional drives - so, contrary to initial plans, VW* decided, under pressure from the large fleet customers, to offer the next Passat again with a diesel engine*.

Even Audi* will not be able to completely convert the large group of company car drivers, who often travel long distances, to electric cars (even if you don't say it as clearly as the competitor BMW*).

At least not with the next generation of the popular A6, which will be available purely electrically, as a hybrid and as a combustion engine.

Now the near-series, electric study Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept reveals that at least the design is really progressive - regardless of the drive.

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Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept: This is what the next station wagon from Ingolstadt looks like

Station wagon with a sporty cut: the A6 Avant e-tron.

© Audi

With the new edition of the A6 expected for 2024, Audi chief designer Marc Lichte consistently breaks with the well-behaved design language of the predecessors.

The appearance is more reminiscent of the purely electric (and technically based on the Porsche Taycan*) Audi e-tron GT* Sportback.

Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept: one reason to drive a station wagon instead of an SUV

With broad shoulders: The Audi A6 e-tron Avant concept.

© Audi

With the next A6 Avant, Audi is picking up all those drivers who need space but still don't like an SUV - or aren't allowed to drive it as a company car.

This is all the more gratifying as Mercedes lets the station wagon die* and replaces it with an SUV.

Accordingly, the design of the A6 e-tron Avant emphasizes that characteristic in which a station wagon is clearly superior to an SUV: the driving dynamics, especially when cornering.

Especially when viewed from the rear, the car looks wide and sporty, which the continuous LED strip also contributes to.

Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept: The single-frame front remains

Still with a single frame grill: The Audi A6 Avant e-tron.

© Audi

The front roughly corresponds to that of the sedan that was shown some time ago as the Audi A6 e-tron Concept*.

The so-called single-frame grille is one of the few design features of the next A6 that will be taken over (in a modernized form) from its predecessor.

In the all-electric e-tron variant, which the study also shows, it is of course closed and hides sensors for autonomy functions.

Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept: Almost the production version

Slim lines: The Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept.

© Audi

The Audi A6 Avant e-tron is still declared as a study, but it almost completely corresponds to the production version of the next A6 generation.

Above all, details, such as the rims, will change.

Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept: The loading master

The Audi A6 Avant e-tron should be able to charge particularly quickly.

© Audi

The electric Audi load master should not only be in the trunk, but also in the batteries.

Thanks to 800-volt technology and a charging capacity of 270 kW, it should be able to draw electricity for the next 300 kilometers in just ten minutes.

The range of the 350 kW/476 hp A6 Avant e-tron should be up to 700 kilometers.

800 Nm of torque enable the sprint to 100 km/h in under four seconds.

Audi A6 Avant e-tron concept: fighting air resistance

Cameras instead of side mirrors optimize aerodynamics.

© Audi

Audi has fine-tuned the aerodynamics to minimize air resistance.

Its cd value of 0.22 does not set a new record (the Mercedes EQS* manages 0.2), but it is still remarkably low.

The cameras instead of side mirrors, which are already known from other e-tron models (and are probably optional in the series), also optimize the aerodynamics.