We’ve seen countless camouflage-covered prototypes of the Q6 e-tron electric SUV Audi will reveal later this year, but this one is a little different. It looks like it could be one of the inevitable S and RS performance versions you don’t have to be a soothsayer to know Audi must be working on for 2024 and beyond.
Virtually every previous photo of the Q6, whether one of our spy shots, one of Audi’s official teaser shots of a camo-wrapped car, or the spy image we published in March 2022 of the EV completely undisguised, has shown the same design of bumper with a trapezoidal lower air intake. But these latest images clearly show a Q6 with an entirely different lower bumper.
This time the lower grille is inverted, creating a smiley face, but what’s probably even more significant is that the grille mesh has a sporty hexagon-style pattern, which suggests it’s a performance version. That idea is backed up by new front fenders that seem to be flared to create a vent (whether real or fake) where the fender meets the front door.
Related: 2024 Audi Q6 E-Tron Teased, Electric Crossover Debuts Later This Year
Obviously, if this was a combustion-powered Audi we’d be able to take a peek at the style of exhaust tailpipes to help us out, but we don’t have that luxury when snooping on future EVs. There are other clues, however, including the brakes, whose monobloc calipers and rotors look much bigger on this car, and it’s possible that Audi’s engineers painted the calipers in a muted color to throw us off the trail.
The Q6 e-tron pictured here is a trad SUV shape, but we know from previous sightings that it will also be available as a Sportback featuring a sloping tail that will probably sacrifice some headroom and luggage capacity for style points. But both versions will get the same split-headlight front end and ride on the same 800-volt PPE architecture shared with the upcoming Porsche Macan EV.
Porsche has already confirmed that the hottest Macan will make 603 hp (450 kW / 612 PS) and 737+ lb-ft (1,000+ Nm) of torque from its dual-motor drivetrain, and it’s possible that an RSQ6 could come close to those numbers using the same basic components. The SQ6, though still equipped with dual motors and all-wheel drive, will aim lower, perhaps coming closer to the 470 hp (350 kW / 476 PS) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) of torque generated by the Audi A6 e-tron wagon concept.
