Back in March 2022, Audi showed us the A6 Avant e-ton concept, strongly hinting that wagons weren’t going away, even if combustion engines were heading for the door. Now, 18 months later, we’ve got our first look at a prototype of the production version, which should be on sale around 12 months from now as a 2025 model.
Just as the Avant concept was simply a wagon variant of the 2021 A6 Sportback e-tron sedan concept, this Avant prototype is a squareback version of the electric sedan we’ve already snapped countless times out on test. The reason we’ve seen so much of the sedan and nothing of the wagon is that the production Sportback will hit the market first, coming earlier in 2024.
Both body styles will be competing directly with the BMW i5, the brand-new electric spinoff of the 2024 5-Series. The combustion 5 and electric i5 are each available as four-door sedans or Touring estates. Mercedes, on the other hand, has a different strategy. It was the first to the mid-size EV market, but the EQE is only available as a sedan, unlike the new ICE E-Class.
Related: Audi A6 e-tron Avant Concept Is The Wagon Of Our Electric Dreams
Other than offering additional practicality, the Avant version of the A6 e-tron should be almost identical to the sedan, from its split headlight arrangement to its blanked-off grille. Both cars are built around the same VW Group Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture that will go into the Porsche Macan EV and Audi’s own Q6 e-tron SUV, and features 800-volt tech for super-fast charging.
Base cars will come with single-motor drivetrains, but expect mid-spec versions to match the concept’s bi-motor, all-wheel drive setup, which put out 469 hp (350 kW / 476 PS) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm), and came equipped with a 100 kWh battery giving 435 miles (700 km) of range. And that still leaves plenty of space for the inevitable RS6. The first ever electric RS6 is rumored to put out as much as 805 hp (600 kW / 816 PS), and though we’ve so far only spied it in Sportback form, the cult appeal of the ICE-powered RS6 wagon means an Avant version has to be on the cards.
