Audi Q6 concept gets 517hp; 9,883lb ft of torque

You may have seen pictures of the Audi Q6 e-tron off-road concept toward the end of last week when its maker previewed the ‘highly emotive’ and heavily modified prototype on social media. Now, with its dynamic reveal confirmed for the F.A.T Ice Race this coming weekend, Audi has revealed considerably more technical details about an EV that’s intended to give ‘a taste of a potential vehicle in the progressive off-road segment’. 

As many suspected, the concept’s electric powertrain is based on the (overboost-enabled) 517hp dual-motor setup found in the new SQ6. Clearly, though, with ride height increase of 160mm and 250mm in track widths (yep – 6.3in and 9.8in in old money) the chassis veers dramatically away from the production model, thanks mostly to the introduction of portal axles. 

While we’ve seen these deployed elsewhere recently (most notably in extreme versions of the Mercedes-AMG G63), Audi is not typically associated with such an uncompromising solution for going off-road – which, of course, is part of the point, and presumably the reason they’ve been developed from scratch. The firm says changes to the suspension links were required to integrate the four portal axles into the front and rear wheel hub assemblies (no kidding); more interestingly, it claims to have reaped significant benefits from their new design. 

Where a conventional portal axle might deliver a torque increase of around 20 to 30 per cent, says Audi, its prototype has increased torque by 50 per cent. Apparently the end result is a weighty EV that can climb 45-degree gradients, although it’s the numbers that boggle the mind: ‘The portal axles increase the combined torque at all wheels (10-second peak) to 9,883 lb ft, a total increase of 3,245 lb ft.’ 

Little wonder it gets up hills like a mountain goat in crampons. As you might expect, the concept’s top speed has taken a hit – it’ll now only do 108mph – but you’d likely accept that limitation for the amount of go-anywhere talent on offer. Not that anyone suggests it is being offered. Audi’s hints aside, you’d have to imagine the public’s response being pretty dramatic for it to lift up a production Q6’s skirt quite so dramatically. Still, according to CEO Gernot Döllner, it’s done its job. 

“The Q6 e-tron offroad concept is a reinterpretation of quattro,” he said following a turn behind the wheel. “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.”