Audi teases new E-tron Sportback concept for Shanghai
And just like the last E-tron concept, it looks the absolute business.
This year's Shanghai Motor Show is proving to be thick with excitement, and it's washing beyond the borders of the Middle Kingdom.
Audi is the latest automaker to announce a world debut in Shanghai this week, and based on the teaser images and video, it appears to be another electric vehicle akin to 2015's E-tron Quattro concept.
The E-tron Sportback's design sketches very obviously peg it as a crossover with a coupe-like roof -- Roadshow's own Emme Hall calls these "coupe-overs." Even with a man standing next to it in one picture, it's hard to tell what segment this crossover would fit into, whether it's a midsize offering like the Mercedes-Benz GLE, or something larger and closer to Audi's own Q7.
The Audi badge also lights up, which is sure to delight some and anger others. Light-up front badges are growing in popularity, with both Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz offering them. Chevrolet and Lincoln are slowly entering that fray, too.
Audi has made clear its intention to build three new electric vehicles, and this is likely a preview of the second model, the first being the E-tron Quattro concept from 2015. It wouldn't be ridiculous to assume that the two vehicles are built on the same platform.
That means this second concept probably packs a drivetrain similar to the E-tron Quattro, which promised a 95-kWh battery and three electric motors providing a range of about 310 miles.
Marc Lichte, Audi's head of design, pulls back the cover on his new concept, but only a little.