It has been roughly a year since the first series production Audi with electric drive made its debut at the same location: The Audi e-tron* was still covered in camouflage wrapping foil at that point. The brand with the four rings is now giving an advance look at a further automobile with an all-electric drive at the Geneva Motor Show: The Audi Q4 e-tron concept is a compact four-door SUV with an exterior length of 4.59 meters whose relation to the Audi e-tron is apparent at first glance.
Two electric motors mobilize 225 kW of system power in the Q4 e-tron concept. As is typical for Audi, the driving power of the concept vehicle is brought to the road with quattro all-wheel drive. Thanks to excellent traction, it accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in just 6.3 seconds.
It reaches its maximum speed at an electronically limited 180 km/h. A large battery with a capacity of 82 kilowatt hours takes up almost the entire space in the underbody area between the axles. The range of over 450 kilometers – in line with the WLTP standard – sets the benchmark in its class.
The technology of the Q4 e-tron concept controls the modular electrification platform (MEB) that will be integrated in numerous electric vehicles produced by the Volkswagen Group in the future, from the compact class to the superior medium-size class. The Audi Q4 e-tron concept gives an advance look at what will already be the fifth series production electric vehicle that the manufacturer will introduce by the end of 2020. Sales of the Audi e-tron have already started, and the first vehicles will be delivered to the customers before the end of March 2019. Later this year, the Audi e-tron Sportback will be presented, and the Audi Q2L e-tron, which was designed specifically for the Chinese market, will roll off the assembly line.
The presentation of the production version of the four-door high-performance coupé Audi e-tron GT, which is being developed at Audi Sport GmbH, is planned for the second half of 2020. The compact Audi Q4 e-tron is to make its production debut at the same time. With this offer, Audi now covers all important market segments with all-electric drive vehicles, from the A segment to the full-size class, just under two years after the launch of the first electric car.
4.59 meters long, 1.90 meters wide, 1.61 meters tall: With its dimensions, the Audi Q4 e-tron concept takes its position in the upper third of the compact class. Its road space requirements thus qualify the electric SUV as an agile all-rounder that is suitable for city driving as well. In terms of the interior, by contrast, its wheelbase of 2.77 meters puts it at least one class higher. As there is no transmission tunnel restricting the space, the Q4 e-tron concept offers unsuspected spaciousness and comfort, especially in terms of legroom both at the front and in the rear.
The sense of spaciousness is underlined by the color scheme. While light, warm colors dominate the upper section of the cabin, the dark carpet in the floor section provides a contrast. The headlining, the window pillars and the upper section of the door rail and dash panel are fitted with white and beige microfiber textiles. In the Audi e-tron concept, sustainability is the top priority not only in terms of the electric drive: The floor covering is made of recycled materials. Instead of chrome-plated metal decor frames, the surfaces are covered with a high-quality multi-layer paint finish. The painted frosted Plexiglas on the applications creates an intensive depth effect. Four seats with integrated head restraints are upholstered with comfortable Alcantara material manufactured with exquisite workmanship.
Double seams stitched with thick yarn adorn the upholstery. The display of the virtual cockpit with the most important display elements for speed, charge level and navigation is located behind the steering wheel. The large-format head-up display with an augmented reality function is a new feature. It can display important graphical information, such as directional arrows for turning, directly on the course of the road. Control panels designed as touch elements on the steering wheel spokes can be used to select frequently used functions. In the middle above the center console, there is a 12.3 inch touchscreen via which the infotainment and vehicle functions are displayed and operated. It is tilted toward the driver for greater ease of operation. A strip of buttons for controlling the air conditioning is located below it. As the center console does not need to hold functional elements such as a gear lever or hand brake actuation elements, it is designed as a spacious stowage compartment that includes a cell phone charging cradle.
There is a horizontal area in high-quality design into which the selector button for the transmission mode is integrated and that also serves as a cover for the front section of the console. In addition to the conventional lower storage compartment, the doors now provide the possibility to store bottles in the specially molded upper section, where they are easy to reach. The modular electrification platform (MEB) offers a broad range of drive variants and power levels. The performance version of the electric drive is installed in the Audi Q4 e-tron concept. The front and rear axles are each powered by an electric motor – the Q4 is a quattro. There is no mechanical connection between the axles. Instead, an electronic control ensures that the torque distribution is coordinated optimally, and it does so in fractions of a second.
That enables the electric SUV to achieve optimum traction in all weather conditions and on any type of surface. The brand with the four rings launched its electric offensive with the world premiere of the allelectric SUV Audi e-tron in September 2018. By 2025, Audi will offer twelve automobiles with all-electric drive in the most important markets worldwide and achieve roughly one-third of its sales with electrified models. The SUVs within this portfolio include the e-tron and the e-tron Sportback due to make its debut in 2019. In addition, there will be a range of models with classic body layout such as Avant and Sportback.
The range will cover every relevant market segment from the compact class to the luxury class. The Audi e-tron GT concept show car, a highly dynamic coupé with a low floor, made its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show 2018. The technology in this automobile was developed in collaboration with Porsche; the design and character of the e-tron GT concept are packed full of unmistakable Audi DNA.
The project will be developed into volume-production models by the end of 2020. The Premium Platform Electric (PPE) is a special joint project of the development departments at Audi and Porsche. It will be the foundation for multiple Audi model families with all-electric drive covering the high-volume B through D segments.
Source: AUDI Europe
