Audi's New Off-Road Concept Boasts The Ultimate Suspension Upgrade
Wacky off-road variants of high-end vehicles are all the rage among automakers these days - see Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato for reference. With the Q6 e-tron off-road concept, Audi has entered the conversation and gone completely overboard in the best possible way.
Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron (20)
2026 Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron
Featuring portal axles all around, this all-electric crossover rides extra high and wide versus the more pedestrian Q6 e-tron Sportback on which it is based. Audi is playing coy on production possibilities thus far, but we know this off-roader is ready to race on a frozen lake in Austria shortly and the automaker has invoked Vorsprung durch Technik at the same time. We're cautiously optimistic.
All specs and information has been sourced from the respective manufacturer.
The Audi Q6 E-Tron Off-Road Concept Is A Beast
Audi Q6 E-Tron Sportback Offroad Concept
The Q6 e-tron off-roader competed in the F.A.T. Ice Race in the Austrian Alps earlier in February, which means this is no show-and-display concept car. Just the opposite. Starting with a luxurious and stylish Q6 e-tron, this lifted beefcake is intended to showcase what Audi's Premium Platform Electric (PPE) is capable of. The new Q6 is the first production model to ride on the PPE and is part of the German automaker's return to Vorsprung durch Technik.
The Q6 e-tron offroad concept is a reinterpretation of quattro. The model shows the potential that our platform for all electric vehicles already has today. This vehicle can claim new ground. We look forward to seeing our customers’ reactions to this highly emotive car. - Audi CEO Gernot Döllner
Translated to "Progress through Technology", this phrase arrived as part of an Audi ad campaign in the 1970s. It pointed to the automaker's position at the time as an industry leader with systems like quattro all-wheel drive, DCT transmissions, innovative TDi engines, and aluminum-intensive construction. Audi notes the Q6 e-tron off-road concept is a new reference point for battery-powered Vorsprung durch Technik. As the CEO of Audi put it, this concept is a "highly emotive reinterpretation of quattro."
Emotive is an understatement. Along with a massive suspension lift and far wider track than the standard Q6 e-tron Sportback, the off-road concept has huge knobby tires, a roof-mounted light bar, and blistered fenders. All draped in a Mythos Black Metallic finish. A pair of electric motors combine to produce 509 horsepower. If James Bond and Mad Max got together and designed a vehicle, it would be the Q6 e-tron off-road concept.
Audi's Unique Portal Axles
Audi Q6 E-Tron Sportback Offroad Concept
Looks are nice, but it's the hardware hiding behind the wheels that is the real star of this concept car show - portal axles. Once associated with commercial and military vehicles like the Mercedes Unimog and Hummer H1, portal axles joined the ranks of Kim Kardashian-piloted tributes to obscene excess in Mercedes' relatively modern G-Class SUVs over the last few years.
Influencers aside, portal axles are actually in the domain of serious off-roaders. Easily identifiable by freakish ground clearances, portal axles effectively raise the centerline of a vehicle's axle. The differential is often the lowest point on a vehicle, making it a common way to get stuck while four wheeling. To get around this failure point, a portal box is typically mounted at the end of the axle that houses a set of gears.
Q6 E-Tron Off-Rod Concept Portal Axle Highlights
Audi
- Integrated within wheel hub assemblies
- Increases torque by 50% at each wheel
- Enable 45-degree gradient climbing
- Add 6.3 inches of ride height
This has the effect of jacking up the axle, pushing down the wheels, and offering additional gear reduction at the wheels. According to Audi, the conventional portal axle design can increase torque at a given wheel by 20-30%. But the in-house developed units fitted to the Q6 e-tron off-road concept are unusual for being directly integrated within the wheel hub assemblies and for cranking up torque at each wheel by 50%.
Using creative calculations, Audi says the four portal axles on its off-roader increase the combined torque at the wheels by 3,245 lb-ft over a base Q6 e-tron for a total twist of 9,883 lb-ft during 10-second bursts. Keep in mind, this is not the actual output of the electric motors, but the torque figures that result from multiplying those conventional numbers by the portal axle gear ratios. Groan-inducing marketing hype aside, the portal axle-equipped Q6 e-tron can climb a 100% grade and that is truly impressive.
Audi Isn't The Only Automaker Using Portal Axles
2017 Mercedes G550 4x4 Squared
There are questions about whether this Audi will make production, and the answer is most likely not. Mostly because those portal axles, while very cool and highly functional, are also incredibly expensive to produce. It's the main reason we don't see portal axles in widespread use. Currently, Ineos is surveying its customer base to determine the production viability of its Grenadier SUVs with portal axles that would cost an estimated $220,000 or roughly three times the price tag of a standard Grenadier.
Which means Mercedes, purveyor of the big ol' Unimog, is the only automaker to attempt selling modern production vehicles with portal axles. Two key examples were the crazy G63 6x6 with triple axles and the G550 4x4 Squared that was sold here in 2017. Starting with the standard G550 - an already highly capable off-roader - the 4x4 Squared variant tacked on portal axles to go with a super-wide track, available eye-searing finishes, and a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 415 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque.
Mercedes G-Class Portal Axle Deltas
Model | 2017 G550 | 2017 G550 4x4 Squared |
|---|---|---|
Base Price | $119,900 | $225,995 |
Ground Clearance | 9.3 Inches | 17.2 Inches |
Fording Depth | 23.6 Inches | 39.4 Inches |
Breakover Angle | 24.0 Degrees | 47.4 Degrees |
A beast by any measure, this steroidal G-Class embarrassed its regular G550 stablemate by adding 7.9 inches of ground clearance, 15.8 inches of water fording capability, and an extra 23.4 degrees to the breakover angle measurement. However, the 4x4 Squared running gear also jacked up the price by more than $100,000, approaching nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Not exactly the kind of vehicle likely to see wide adoption.
So, the Audi Q6 e-tron off-road concept certainly has some hurdles to clear - on price anyway - if it has a shot at mainstream production. But don't rule it out entirely. Audi has shown more than a passing interest in bonkers battery-powered off-roaders, as with the RS Q e-tron racer that won the grueling 2024 Dakar Rally.
