Audi hints at new style for EVs
Inverted grille for future EVs New chassis being developed
ELSEWHERE at Audi, the firm has given us the first hint of how its next generation of electric cars could look, by revealing the front end of a concept designed on the VW Group’s new PPE platform that the company is creating in conjunction with Porsche.
The unnamed vehicle is at the rear of an official image designed to showcase Audi’s approach to electrification; the e-tron, forthcoming e-tron GT, and Q4 e-tron sit in the foreground of the image.
The concept has been partly revealed, showing a potential new grille treatment that Audi is considering for its electric cars.
It looks like an inverted version of the current set-up, with a very obvious panel replacing the conventional air intake. The dark area at the edge of the frame could potentially be used to provide cooling.
Our exclusive image (above) reveals how the finished model could look; its profile and overall shape are similar to that of a large four-door coupé, while the new front is a preview of how other future Audi EVs could look with the inverted grille.
Auto Express understands that the car in the image is roughly similar in size to the A7 Sportback, but that it has a slightly higher roofline because of the thicker floor required to accommodate the battery pack. It has been based on the fixed points of the PPE platform, though; this is an architecture that Audi and Porsche are developing to maximise range and refinement.
A high-level Audi source told us that the concept is an “early work in progress”, but added that work on the front-end styling is more advanced than that on the car’s flanks; hence the willingness to reveal just one specific section of the vehicle.
The new PPE architecture is one of three electric vehicle platforms Audi will use to underpin a range of upcoming EVs. PPE, which stands for Premium Platform Electric, is designed to complement the J1 chassis that underpins the Porsche Taycan and the Audi rival to it, the four-door e-tron GT.
The J1 architecture is aimed at outright performance and low weight, whereas PPE is capable of supporting a wider range of body styles, including saloons and SUVs, where comfort and refinement are considered to be of greater importance to buyers. The firm said this architecture will “form the basis for several Audi model families featuring a purely electric drive intended to cover high-volume market segments.”
The third EV architecture, MEB, is being used for vehicles at a lower price point, such as the Q4 e-tron.