The Audi e-tron Sportback Concept was unveiled this week in Shanghai. And it very closely anticipates a 100% electric model, which will hit the market in 2019.
Audi's electric offensive continues to gain momentum. Next year, the Audi e-tron, the electric SUV anticipated by the Audi e-tron quattro concept, introduced in 2015 will hit the market.
Less than a year later, in 2019, the production version of the e-tron Sportback Concept presented this week at the Shanghai Motor Show (pictured) will be unveiled.
Our Audi e-tron will go on sale in 2018 – it will be the first electric vehicle in its class suitable for everyday use. With a range of 500 km and a differentiated electric driving experience, we want this sporty SUV to set the trend for the next decade. In 2019, the production version of the Audi e-tron Sportback will arrive – an exciting coupé version that will be identifiable as an electric car at the first glance.”
Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AUDI AG
As we have previously reported, it is confirmed that the Audi e-tron Sportback Concept will be a sportier version of the e-tron quattro. Audi has dubbed it the 'Four-door Gran Turismo' and, in our eyes, it seems to be in the future range of electric SUV's as the Audi A7 Sportback is in the Audi A6.
The images provided do not allow for a correct notion of the scale of the new model. Measuring 4.9 m long, 1.98 m wide, 1.53 m high and 2.93 m wheelbase, the e-tron Sportback has imposing dimensions.
LED, LED everywhere.
Visually, the new model expresses its 100% electric condition through a front marked by the absence of the typical engine cooling grille, which becomes a solid surface.
The aerodynamic precision is visible in details such as the presence of a front air deflector at the upper end of the “grill” and on the concave surface that defines the bonnet, forming a kind of bridge between the front ends.
The profile is similar to a coupé, and, being a concept, we have the typical stylistic exaggerations: cameras instead of rearview mirrors, XXL and LED wheels, even lots of LEDs.
Audi was the first brand to use only LED as the only source of light and it has not stopped evolving. Matrix LED, laser optics and the use of OLED technology are part of the continuous effort in the evolution of lighting technology applied to cars. The e-tron Sportback is another chapter in the saga.
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Literally, hundreds of LEDs constitute the concept's lighting, adding versatility and serving as communication agents, allowing the creation of the most different patterns (see the video below).Among some peculiarities, daytime running lights no longer project their light to the outside and start to project onto reflective surfaces in the bodywork. And Matrix laser lights installed on the bumpers can also project a variety of information onto the road.
Under the "bonnet".
The configuration of the powertrain components will be common to future electric models produced by the German brand.
An electric motor at the front and two electric motors at the rear, providing full traction, or using Audi language, transforming it into a quattro.
The cooled lithium-ion batteries are located on the platform floor, between the axles. Such placement allows for a lower center of gravity and better weight distribution. In the case of the e-sport Sportback Concept, the mass distribution is 52/48 (front/rear).
Power to "give and sell"
The Audi e-tron Sportback Concept produces 435 hp, but can reach 503 hp in boost mode. This allows an acceleration from 0-100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds. The capacity of the batteries is around 95 kWh, allowing, as mentioned above, around 500 km of autonomy (NEDC cycle).
The interior continues Audi's minimalist trend, where the hi-tec look provided by the multiple screens contrasts with the light, neutral tones present.
The information and control of the various functions is reduced, almost entirely, to the presence of three screens. Two other smaller ones are inserted in the doors and transmit what is captured by the “rear view mirrors” – that is, the external cameras.
