--- title: "Audi Q6 E-Tron Off-Road Concept Is an Aggressive Take On the Outdoors" date: "2025-01-25" modified: "2025-01-25" authors: - name: "Beverly Braga" job_title: "Weekend Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/beverly-braga" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/audi-q6-e-tron-off-road-concept-is-an-aggressive-take-on-the-outdoors" categories: - "Audi News" - "Builds" - "Culture" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Audi" - "Electric Vehicle" - "suv/crossover" --- # Audi Q6 E-Tron Off-Road Concept Is an Aggressive Take On the Outdoors ![Audi e-tron with portal axles]() *\Audi\* [Audi]() takes the essence of [Quattro]() to the next level with its newest prototype. The Q6 E-Tron Off-Road checks all the boxes of a [SEMA Show]()-ready concept: big tires, big lift kit, and big roof-mounted lights. But this all-wheel drive [electric]() SUV is also the real deal with big climbing capability. That 100-percent grade? Pfft. The Q6 E-Tron rides on [Volkswagen Group]()’s new global EV platform, the [Premium Platform Electric]() (PPE). On its own, the standard [Q6 E-Tron]() is what you'd expect: luxury comfort and premium performance. Now throw that pinkies-up, smooth roads-only mentality out the window because where the off-road concept goes, you don't need roads or trails or even a flat surface. Equipped with newly designed [portal axles](), the Q6 E-Tron Off-Road increases the amount of torque sent to the wheels by 50 percent. Conventional portal axles only increase torque between 20 and 30 percent. On the Audi off-road concept, the combined torque at all wheels goes up by 3,245 pound-feet for a total of 9,883 lb-ft. Jeebus. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Also, yes, the new off-road suspension lowers the Q6 E-Tron concept's top speed to 108 mph (the Q6 E-Tron and SQ6 E-Tron reach 130 and 143 mph, respectively), but speed is your enemy when on the trails, anyway. The upshot is the improved suspension allows for better climbing, even steep 100-percent slopes, which, when calculating rise-over-run, equals a 45-degree angle. That's a blind hill climb on any surface. But the Audi folks say it's no big deal. "This vehicle can claim new ground,'" said Audi CEO Gernot Döllner in a [press release](). "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." Potential is a keyword we like hearing, especially here. The Q6 E-Tron Off-Road has plenty of possibilities since nothing it has is out of the ordinary, really. The EV concept is equipped with dual motors for a combined output of 380 kW (509 horsepower) and features a wider track (by 9.8 inches) as well as a taller ride height (by 6.3 inches). Definitely not a display model, the Q6 E-Tron Off-Road concept will be part of the [ice racing]() action at the upcoming [F.A.T. Ice Race]() to be held at a [frozen lake]() in the Austrian Alps on February 1. ## Author Born and raised in Hawaii, Beverly has been a prolific and published creative writer since her teens. As a contributor to The Drive, Beverly covers the weekend shift, blogging about all things automotive, mobility, transportation, and topics in-between. Currently a digital nomad, Beverly's only constant is her car, a second-generation Mazdaspeed3. Even though she's never in one place for too long, her hot hatch always feels like home. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()