On the occasion of the Alpine Skiing World Cup weekend in Kitzbühel, Austria, Audi unveiled the Q6 e-tron offroad concept, an unprecedented prototype equipped with two electric motors with a combined output of 517 horsepower, capable of overcoming gradients of up to 100 per cent thanks to newly developed portal axles. The 16 cm increase in ground clearance and 25 cm wider track width compared to the Audi Q6 e-tron SUV contribute to an uncompromising look.
While conventional portal axles result in an increase in torque at the wheel of around 20-30%, due to the presence of gear reduction boxes between the axle shafts and hubs, the technical solution developed by Audi guarantees a 50% increase in torque at the wheel. Top speed is limited to 175 km/h – in line with the pure off-road vocation – but at the same time it becomes possible to overcome gradients of up to 45 degrees (i.e. 100 per cent).
Innovations come from asking the right questions. In the case of the Audi Q6 e-tron offroad concept, the question was: ‘How can we create a highly emotional electric vehicle?’. The answer to that question lies in the adoption of two gantry axles with four newly developed axle shafts and integrated via gears into the front and rear wheel hubs. In addition to partial modifications to the suspension linkages, the gantry axles lead – as mentioned – to a significant increase in torque at the wheel, which reaches the stratospheric value of 13,400 Nm in total, considering the 10-second peak.
