Audi Q6 e-tron Offroad Is A Wild Concept With Portal Axles

A few hours ago, Audi revealed a brand-new concept at its Facebook page. Dubbed the Q6 e-tron Offroad, it is the German automaker’s take on how a capable off-roader should look.

From the sole picture we have of its exterior, we can see that the concept is based on the Q6 Sportback e-tron, with very slim headlights at the top of the front end, although it differentiates itself with slim running lights further down the bumper and quad-LED lights that, we presume, were added to emphasize its off-road character. The same applies to the immensely wide wheel arches that house dark alloy wheels with beefy off-road tires and, at least from what we can see, a much longer suspension travel than the regular model.

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Unfortunately, there’s no official press release at this moment, so all the information we have comes from Audi’s very laconic post. What it reveals is that it is fully electric (no surprise there) and it sports all-wheel drive (ditto), as well as “newly developed” portal axles (they didn’t care to elaborate on that).

All that, and the obviously high ground clearance, should make it quite capable off the beaten path, although Audi is keen to stress that it’s a concept and not a production vehicle. Nevertheless, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t spawn a road-going version sometime in the future, given the increased popularity of hardcore off-roaders, but truth be told, we wouldn’t bet on it.

Then again, there’s always the chance that it was developed with Dakar and rally-raid racing in mind – possibly in the new Stock category which demands that entries are not bespoke creations but rather based on production cars. Land Rover has already announced that it will compete in 2026 with a racer based on the 626 hp Defender Octa, and other manufacturers are expected to follow suit. However, the long stages in rally-raid events might pose quite a challenge for an all-electric car going flat-out, which would certainly make it even more interesting if Audi decides to race with one.

For what it’s worth, the Q6 Sportback e-tron quattro features a dual-motor setup with 383 hp (285 kW / 388 PS) that’s enough to propel it from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 5.9 seconds and go up to 395 miles (636 km) on a single charge. Given the concept’s extreme nature, though, we wouldn’t be surprised if it is actually based on the 510 hp (380 kW / 517 PS) SQ6 Sportback e-tron, which can hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 4.3 seconds, reach a 143 mph (230 km/h) to speed, and travel 377 miles (607 km) between charges.

In any case, we expect a full release, hopefully including technical specs, to come out at some point, and will update this story accordingly, so stay tuned.