New electric Audi SUV sh

● Q4 Sportback concept revealed ● First Audi to use MEB platform REVEALED

THIS is the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron concept, a thinly veiled glimpse at an upcoming all-electric, baby coupé-SUV due in showrooms next summer.

As per the brand’s naming conventions the concept is a coupé-SUV variant of the regular Q4 e-tron, which was first revealed at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Both the regular Q4 e-tron and Sportback version will launch together and become Audi’s first model based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform for electric vehicles.

Audi claims that the concept is 90 per cent the finished article; a few detailed surface tweaks and the addition of door handles will be the only notable changes between this and the showroom model.

Biggest alterations for the Sportback are found at the rear; the C-pillars have been stretched so that the roofline arches in a single continuous swoop from the front to rear, to give the Q4 Sportback e-tron its coupé silhouette.

It carries over the large rear diffuser with illuminated e-tron logo from the regular Q4 e-tron, as well as the LED tail-light bar, characteristically squared off shoulders, 22-inch wheels and large front grille.

The Sportback is presented as a fourseater – although the production model will accommodate five passengers – and features a large 12.3-inch central touchscreen that is angled towards the driver. Recycled materials feature throughout the cabin.

Being based on the MEB platform means that the flagship version of the Q4 Sportback e-tron will support an 82kWh battery pack. It’s unclear whether Audi will make the smaller and cheaper 45kWh and 58kWh battery packs offered in the VW ID.3 available in the Q4 e-tron range. However, all-wheel-drive and rear-wheeldrive versions will be available.

With the 298bhp dual-motor, all-wheeldrive set-up, Audi claims the Q4 Sportback e-tron has a maximum range of 280 miles and a 0-62mph time of 6.3 seconds. Top speed is limited to 112mph. Performance specs for rear-drive versions have yet to be confirmed, but Audi says that an allelectric range of over 310 miles on a single charge will be achievable.

The new SUV will be compatible with rapid charging at up to 125kW, which will top up the battery from flat to 80 per cent in just over half an hour.

Showroom versions of the Q4 e-tron are expected to be revealed early next year. When it does arrive, expect the standard car to carry a price tag around the £50,000 mark. The Sportback variant will carry a premium of a few thousand pounds over that.

Expect the production version of the Q4 Sportback e-tron to look almost identical to the concept

INTERIOR Cabin is largely production-ready, with digital displays and a large central screen that’s angled towards the driver