First of all, there is already an Audi Q6, but the Chinese model has little in common with the model that is supposed to conquer Europe and the USA from the end of 2023 / beginning of 2024. The design language can already be based on the near-series concept study of the Audi A6 E-Tron, which was shown in 2021 as a sedan and in 2022 as a station wagon version as a 476 hp all-wheel drive vehicle.
The Audi Q6 Etron should come onto the market in these months and the new Porsche Macan, then purely electric, should also be in the starting blocks. But the start of the dynamic duo has been delayed, because both models are on the new group platform PPE – Premium Platform Electric – for which there is still a lot to do. “We develop the PPE together on an equal footing,” explains Dominik Hartmann, who works on the chassis of the Porsche Macan. As with the Audi Etron GT and Porsche Taycan, there is a consonance – the Ingolstadt will be the somewhat more moderate luxury model, while the Porsche Macan should stand for sportiness.
Both models will be on the road with battery packs with a size of around 100 kWh, which are equipped with prismatic cells. Audi is using this new technology for the first time with the upgrade of the Etron to the Q8 Etron. It can be charged with the fast 800-volt technology, which enables a maximum of 270 kW. In less than half an hour, the battery pack in the underbody of the electric SUV should be boosted from five to 80 percent. While the electric Porsche Macan of the next generation, as an obligatory all-wheel drive vehicle, is said to have an output of up to 450 kW / 612 PS / 1,000 Nm, the top model of the Audi Q6 E-Tron should offer slightly less power in order to remain priced below the Macan.
The interior of the approximately five-meter-long Audi Q6 E-Tron, probably unchanged as a normal crossover and coupé version called Sportback, should be particularly elegant. The Q6 remains a pure five-seater and, like the Macan, does not have a third row of seats. An air suspension is set and a rear axle steering at least gives the platform, so that it should not only come in the planned version of the Audi Q6 RS.
More important than ever that the Audi Q6 Etron and Porsche Macan differ not only in design. The unequal twin brothers Porsche Taycan and the Audi Etron GT, both of which use the J1 architecture, show that this can work perfectly. Porsche has lifted the veil on the new PPE architecture before. If you keep the self-image of the two brands in mind, both similarities and differences can be worked out. The 100 kWh battery, which is equipped with prismatic cells, is set for both vehicles. It is not for nothing that Audi has been using this energy storage system since the Q8 Etron facelift. The 800 volt technology, which enables fast charging, is also an integral part of battery technology. It should be possible to recharge with more than 270 kW, which the Etron GT and the Taycan currently offer. An exciting innovation is the bank shop. If the charging station only offers 400 volt technology, a high-voltage switch is thrown and the battery is divided into two 400-volt batteries, which can then be charged particularly quickly, because fewer refueling stops do not always bring the Stromer to its destination faster.
With the new Q6 Etron, Audi wants to start the largest model offensive in its history. By 2025, the Ingolstadt company wants to present more than 20 new models – more than half of them electric. Audi CEO Markus Duesmann: “The future Audi Q6 Etron series is the first based on the new Premium Platform Electric. This is the first time that e-mobility has come from Ingolstadt. Sales of all-electric models increased by 44 percent last year compared to 2021.”
