At the 2019 Geneva Auto Show a little over a year ago, Audi showed us the Q4 E-Tron concept, a preview of its upcoming compact electric SUV. We’ve still got a while to wait for the production Q4 to hit showrooms—it’s not due until 2021—but Audi has just introduced a little something more to whet our appetites: A new concept called the Q4 E-Tron Sportback.
The pictures tell the story: This is a “coupe” version of the Q4 E-Tron, and it’s basically a three-quarter-scale version of the upcoming 2020 E-Tron Sportback. The Q4 E-Tron is nearly identical in size to the Q4 E-Tron SUV, standing just four-tenths of an inch shorter and lower, but identical in width and wheelbase. The vehicle you’re looking at is a concept car; exterior designer Amar Kaya told us it’s a bit wider in the fenders and cabin than the production version will be, but aside from that and some changes to the front and rear styling, “this is generally the car.”
Q4 E-Tron Powertrain Details
Audi had a few more technical details for us, which apply to both SUV and Sportback versions of the Q4 E-Tron. The underpinnings are the MEB modular electric platform, which is shared with Volkswagen and used under its upcoming ID 4 compact crossover. Audi will offer a choice of single-motor rear-wheel-drive or dual-motor all-wheel-drive, the latter with a total output of 225 kW, or 302 horsepower. Audi claims a 0-62-mph time of 6.3 seconds, which is modest for a dual-motor EV, and a top speed just shy of 112 mph.
Both Q4s have an 82-kWh battery tucked between the front and rear axles, 12 kWh more than the new Tesla Model Y‘s battery but 1 kwh short of the largest battery to be offered in Ford’s upcoming Mustang Mach-E. Audi claims a range of 280 miles in the WLTP cycle with all-wheel-drive, and 311 miles for the rear-drive version. There’s no way to directly translate that to EPA range, but we can make a rough estimate: About 250 miles with all-wheel-drive and 275 with rear-wheel-drive. That indicates the Q4 E-Tron will fall well short of the ratings of the Model Y (315 miles) and the Mach-E (300 miles), but we won’t know for sure until we get an official EPA number—and even then, real-world use may see results differ significantly from the official ratings.
Augmented Reality HUD
Audi also talked a bit more about tech, including an “augmented reality” head-up display. Details were sketchy—no one doing the presentation had yet seen the system in action—but it should include features such as animated arrows for turn-by-turn navigation. Audi will also offer owners the opportunity to customize the pattern of the LED daytime running lights, but we don’t know yet if this feature will fit with U.S. regulations. (Most Euro-nifty lighting doesn’t.)
Audi says the production version of the Q4 E-Tron Sportback will go on sale during calendar year 2021. Pricing has not been set, but Audi is targeting a base price of €40,000 in Europe, which is just shy of $45,000 at today’s exchange rate.
