To be built at home in Ingolstadt, the new electric Q model could be followed by a high-performance version later in its life cycle if a recent trademark is any indication. Filed with the Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial (INPI) in Argentina, Audi took legal measures on December 16 to secure the “RS Q6” moniker.

Set to go up against the Tesla Model X, the Audi RS Q6 is unlikely to arrive sooner than 2023 or 2024 considering the standard model won’t be going on sale until most likely towards the end of next year. As with all RS models from the German luxury brand, it should come as standard with Quattro all-wheel drive. That would effectively mean one electric motor at the front axle and another at the rear.

The Q6 / RS Q6 will have a few aces up its sleeve over the smaller MEB-based Q4 model by featuring air suspension, torque vectoring, rear-wheel steering, and support for fast charging at 350 kW. At least that’s what Audi and Porsche have said the PPE platform will be capable of, along with the promise of more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) of range based on the WLTP cycle. We’ve heard through the grapevine the RS model could push out 590 horsepower and a massive 612 pound-feet (830 Newton-meters) to both axles, but that remains to be seen.

It is believed the entry-level trim with RWD is going to carry a starting price of anywhere between $50,000 to $55,000 before any applicable incentives. 2022 could also see the launch of a second Audi EV based on the PPE underpinnings as the A6 E-Tron concept is rumored to morph into a production model as early as next year. Technical specifications emerged earlier today, but only for the Chinese version.

Source: Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial (INPI)

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Before its official debut in 2022 when it will enter production in Ingolstadt, the electric-only SUV has been captured on camera undergoing testing somewhere in Germany. Featuring the production body and looking like a larger Q4 E-Tron, the first-ever Q6 model from Audi was showing a generously sized wheelbase in relation to the car’s size. It’s all thanks to the bespoke electric platform, shaving off the front and rear overhangs to increase the distance between the axles without making the vehicle any larger.

The dedicated EV packaging will give it just about as room inside the posh cabin as the gasoline- and diesel-fueled Q7. Audi’s upcoming electric SUV will be mechanically superior compared to the MEB-based Q4 considering the Four Rings have said the PPE architecture is being conceived with some notable upgrades. These include all-wheel steering, torque vectoring, air suspension, and a charging speed of up to 350 kW.

We are expecting Audi to offer the Q6 E-Tron in both rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations with a single- and dual-motor setup, respectively. In regards to the battery size, the stunning A6 E-Tron concept unveiled earlier this year also used the PPE architecture as its backbone and came with a large 100-kWh pack, good for 435 miles (700 kilometers) of range. It doesn’t necessarily mean the production EVs riding on this bespoke electric platform will feature the same battery, but more than 300 miles between charges seems highly plausible.

While the 2022 Audi Q4 E-Tron kicks off at $43,900 in the United States before any applicable EV incentives, we’re expecting the Q6 E-Tron to split the difference until the $65,900 E-Tron. In other words, it could carry a starting price of around $55,000, but it’s just a rough estimation at this point. Customer deliveries should start either by the end of next year or early 2023.

Source: CarSpyMedia / YouTube

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A new report from Motor Trend aims to shed light on some of the juicy details surrounding the first-ever Q6 E-Tron. The North American magazine claims it will carry a starting price of approximately $50,000 to $55,000 for the base rear-wheel-drive version equipped with a single motor and a smaller battery. It is worth mentioning the rumored asking price does not take into account any applicable EV-related incentives.

It goes without saying the more expensive versions will add an electric motor to the front axle for significantly more power and Quattro all-wheel drive. The lineup should closely mirror that of the A6 E-Tron, which was previewed by a concept earlier this year at Auto Shanghai in China ahead of the production model’s unveiling believed to be earmarked for 2022.

That one too will ride on the PPE architecture, and in concept form, it had a fairly large battery pack with a usable capacity of 100 kWh, providing enough juice for 435 miles (700 kilometers) of range per WLTP. Power came from two electric motors developing a combined 470 hp (350 kW) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of instant torque, enabling the A6 E-Tron concept to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in less than four seconds.

Both the Q6 E-Tron SUV and A6 E-Tron liftback will support fast-charging at up to 270 kW, translating to a charge from 5% to 80% in less than 25 minutes or 186 miles (300 kilometers) of range in 10 minutes. These are the specs released by Audi for the A6 E-Tron concept, and we’re expecting the road-going PPE-based cars of this size to offer similar numbers in production form.

Meanwhile, and separately from the Q6 E-Tron, Audi will unveil in the months to come a three-row electric SUV based on the lesser MEB platform in China. Essentially, the seven-seat model will serve as a more sophisticated alternative to the Volkswagen ID.6 available exclusively in the People’s Republic.

Source: Motor Trend

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“Our Ingolstadt site is in the midst of preparing for the production of all-electric models. Remodeling includes, for instance, a conversion of the old A3 body-in-white into the PPE body-in-white facility. The first all-electric model to roll off the assembly lines from 2022 is the Q6 E-Tron.”

To be built at home in Ingolstadt, the zero-emissions model will ride on the same Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture as the next-generation Porsche Macan.

The Audi Q6 E-Tron will follow the fullsize E-Tron SUV (pictured here) launched in 2018 as an electric adaptation of the MLB platform originally engineered for vehicles with combustion engines. Later this year, the Q4 E-Tron / Q4 E-Tron Sportback will premiere as the first Audi models based on the MEB platform engineered from day one purely for EVs.

Details regarding the Q6 E-Tron are scarce, but we do know the PPE platform is derived from the J1 architecture used by the Porsche Taycan and the recently introduced Audi E-Tron GT. It will support fast-charging at up to 350 kW and open up the possibility for high-performance derivatives carrying the RS badge.

Audi previously announced PPE will be more sophisticated than MEB by offering rear-wheel steering along with built-in torque-vectoring capabilities. Not only that, but the high-end models will come with air suspension for a smoother ride. Several battery sizes are planned, along with single- and dual-motor setups for RWD and AWD models, respectively.

We should learn more about the Q6 E-Tron once Porsche unveils the all-new electric Macan, although that won’t happen until towards the end of the year or early 2022. The arrival of Audi’s new electric SUV won’t spell the end of the conventionally powered Q5 / Q5 Sportback as the models will peacefully coexist for a number of years.

The Q6 E-Tron is part of a greater plan to roll out more than 30 electrified models by the middle of the decade, with approximately 20 of them being pure EVs.

Source: Audi

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