Audi Drops Glorious New A6 Sportback e-Tron
Audi's been a bit slow to the EV party in the U.S. Much like BMW, its EVs have actually been good-to-great, but the buzz hasn't been there. That's about to change, and you're looking face-to-face at the "why." The A6 e-Tron is the argument in looks, and very seriously, spec, for why the luxury carmaker that was on fire in the mid-2000s has an electrification answer to Tesla, and to Korean rival, Genesis, not to mention, a gut-punch at rival Mercedes and to upstarts like Lucid. A quick glance at the details argues the case.
It's Oh-So Slippery
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Ever wonder why brands like Kia and Hyundai skip the rear window wiper? Ah, and also why Audi's done that with the new A6 e-Tron? Wind. Or rather, cheating it. This new car achieves an insanely low, .23 coefficient of drag, which is on par with brand peer Porsche's Taycan GT of .22. To get the most range, you really need to slice through the air.
Fortunately, when you look at this new liftback, it achieves that but doesn't look like an indistinct blob. It, gorgeously, looks like an Audi. As for the lack of a trunk, but a more generously cavernous, flip-tailed hatch, that's also in the name of aero. More specifically, it's about a smoother release of air from the car's derriere. And you'll note, this is why the Taycan is shaped similarly.
Interesting Battery Tech
Audi
This is Audi's first execution of its "low floor" Premium Platform Electric’s (PPE) architecture. The first high-floor version came on the Q6 e-Tron SUV, which was introduced to the U.S. market in late 2024. Audi says that although the A6 Sportback e-Tron's 94.4-kilowatt-hour battery "only" charges at a rate of 270 kilowatts — which is slower than some of its fastest competitors — its battery management system achieves a much flatter charging curve. That allows DC fast charging from 10-80 percent in a mere 21 minutes.
Fast, And Faster
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While we don't yet know a few key facets, like weight (probably roughly 4,500-5,000 pounds), we do know power. The S6 boasts 543 horsepower and will be able to tag 60 miles per hour in 3.7 seconds. A Lucid Air Saphire can do the deed in 1.89 seconds — and will cost you $249,000. Probably foregoing the S6 and opting for the dual-motor, 456 horsepower Quattro is enough muscle for most buyers, and that's relatively cost-competitive with alternatives in the luxury EV.
Big Wheel Bling, But Watch The Range
Audi
This is a luxury sled. So Audi defaults rear-wheel-drive and quattro buyers to 20-inch aero wheels. Audi's ultra package (aka, the cars with longer range) comes with 19s. And, as you'd guess, because it's going to be lighter, only the single-speed RWD A6 Sportback e-Tron with 19s is capable of hitting 392 miles between charges. Again, Audi hasn't divulged range on the Quattro cars, but does say S6 buyers can go for one of a few different 21-inch wheel setups with all-seasons or summer rubber. We are getting to a place where — speculating here — you can get bling wheels on an EV and likely still pull 300 miles between charging. Glory be.
TopSpeed's Take
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When this e-Tron sedan arrives this summer, Audi's promising very compelling tech, both inside and out. S6 Sportback e-Trons will get OLED tail lamps (er, not lamps at all) that are technically displays, with 450 segments. It's very possible that allows updated patterns. For instance, future over-the-air updates may allow Audi to add Level 3 autonomy to this car. In that mode, like Mercedes, Audi may want the lighting pattern to shift so drivers around you know your ride is driving itself.
Inside, Audi's showcasing in-headrest speakers, and a passenger screen that allows them to watch movies from a dedicated screen that changes its pattern when you shift out of park, so you, as the driver, cannot see the latest episode of The White Lotus your co-pilot is cringing at. And as we've seen from Mercedes as well, Audi is adding augmented-reality for the driver, which appears to project navigation and other cues onto the road ahead of the car.
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There's no headliner below the glass roof. Instead, it uses tech called polymer-dispersed liquid crystal, which can be switched from clear to opaque at the touch of a button. If all this tech sounds compelling to you, it does to us as well. We've felt like Audi was always right about "there" with EV tech, just not quite. Well, turn the page, folks. This looks like Audi leading again, and it's darn cool to see.
