Audi e-tron Sportback concept in Shanghai

The model has a 320 kW electric drive. The design language combines classic Audi elements with numerous forward-looking details.

Market launch soon
Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, affirms: "In 2018, we will start with the Audi e-tron - the first electric car suitable for everyday use in the core competition. With a range of more than 500 kilometers and the special electric driving experience, we are making this sporty SUV the must-have of the coming decade. And it will be followed as early as 2019 by the production version of the Sportback, an emotional coupe variant that will thrill."

Clarity and reduction
In the emphatically brightly designed interior, it offers the synthesis of functional clarity and the reduction of controls as a formal principle. The lighting technology of the concept car offers a visible innovation: Digitally controlled LED matrix units at the front and rear create excellent light output. Tiny digital matrix projectors literally make their mark on the asphalt. The Shanghai technology study now debuts a whole range of complex functions that use light to steer visibility and interaction with the surroundings in new directions.

Powerful
For the powertrain, the e-tron Sportback uses a configuration that will also be found in future production Audis with fully electric drive: One electric motor on the front axle and two on the rear axle drive all four wheels and turn the powerful coupe into a quattro in typical Audi fashion. An output of 320 kW - and even 370 kW when boosted - ensures that the vehicle is propelled to its full potential. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h is completed in just 4.5 seconds. With 95 kilowatt hours of battery power, the range is more than 500 kilometers (NEDC). As in the e-tron quattro concept, the lithium-ion battery in the concept car is located between the axles under the passenger cell. This installation position ensures a low center of gravity and a balanced axle load distribution of 52:48 (front/rear). The battery can be charged with alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) through the so-called Combined Charging System with two connections.

The China market
Dr. Dietmar Voggenreiter, Member of the Board of Management for Marketing and Sales at AUDI AG, is aware of the special importance of electric mobility in the Chinese market: "We are specifically showing the Audi e-tron Sportback for the first time in Shanghai, because China is the world's most important market for e-cars. This applies to infrastructure and promotion as well as sales. There are already around 150,000 charging stations, and another 100,000 will be added by the end of 2017. We are well equipped for this rapid growth. In the next five years, we will offer five e-tron models in China, including pure battery vehicles with ranges well above 500 kilometers like the Audi e-tron Sportback."

E-Design
The designers broke new ground, and not only with the hood. Above the hood, which is pulled down low at the front, a bridge running parallel to the front connects the two fenders. At the sides, the wide wheel arches with their accentuated upper end form the quattro architecture. They are not only visual evidence of dynamic potential, but also represent integration into the brand's genetics. Large 23-inch wheels in a six-spoke design underscore the self-assured appearance of the stately coupé. An exterior length of 4.90 meters, a width of 1.98 meters and a height of 1.53 meters with a wheelbase of 2.93 meters position the e-tron Sportback close to the Audi A7. The Audi e-tron Sportback concept car is to be followed by the production version in 2019.

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