The Audi Q6 e-tron offroad concept takes the company’s ‘offroad’ sub-brand to new heights

EVs are imitating technical outerwear as manufacturers look to the rugged, high-tech forms and materials of outdoor equipment makers to give their products a contemporary sheen. Following on from the tracked Genesis GV60 MIV Concept revealed last week and luxurious limited editions like the Callum Skye, the traditional SUV is being usurped by smaller but no less rugged machines that combine comfort with ability.

Soon we’ll get the first look at the new Volvo EX30 Cross Country, which takes the Swedish company’s tiniest EV and gives it an injection of brawn courtesy of raised suspension and a more rugged body kit.

In the meantime, this is Audi’s potential entrant to the genre, an electric reboot for the company’s ‘offroad’ series of 4x4 estate cars. The Q6 e-tron offroad concept takes the Sportback version of Audi’s mid-range e-SUV and gives it over 6” of additional ground clearance and nearly 10” of width. Huge flared wheelarches accommodate the special off-road tyres.

That serves up a fairly menacing image, countered by the svelte(ish) swooping roofline sported by the Q6’s Sportback variant – similar to the standard Q6 we recently drove in Norway. For the time being, this prototype is strictly concept only, created to conjure up a ‘highly emotive’ version of the all-electric original.

If an offroad version of the Q6 does surface, it probably won’t have the special ‘portal’ axles sported by the concept – a way of raising ride height by offsetting the axle tube above the centre of the wheel. This set-up has the added bonus of increasing the torque, thanks to the additional gears needed to shift the axle tube. As Audi points out, although the top speed is lowered to 108 mph (‘adequate for an off-roader’), the grip and torque enable the concept to venture up 45 degree gradients.

Snow, ice and motor shows are this machine’s natural habitat, places where the bespoke bumper- and roof rack-mounted array of LEDs can burn brightly to their true potential.

All this talk of emotion implies that Audi is looking for ways of bringing its A game to EV sales, conjuring up the spirit of the original 80s quattro and other iconic models. Last year, 20% of Audi’s UK sales were electric vehicles, a number that will only rise in the future.

Audi.co.uk, @AudiUK