Friends, take a moment to peruse the gallery of spy photos we have embedded below. Oftentimes you can suss out some details hiding beneath camouflage covers, but this time around there’s almost a comical aspect to these Audi shots. Fortunately, the features that stand out – prominently we might add – help us conclude this is an all-electric RS6 E-Tron prototype.
For example, check out those fender flares at the front. They wouldn’t look out of place on a Ford Bronco Raptor, but you won’t find big off-road tires in the wells of this Audi. Unfortunately, the lighting isn’t good enough to make out tire sizes but they’re tall, wide, and supremely low-profile. Moreover, how about those shiny cross-drilled brake rotors behind them? They look barely small enough to fit behind the wheel. Clearly, these are components you won’t find on a standard Audi sedan.
So, we have silly-wide fender flares nearly filled up with fat tires and super-sized brake rotors. Now, let’s have a look at the back where we see more oddball body lines with the quarter panels jutting out. And there’s a chunk of … something across the back. It’s not a spoiler, but maybe it could be some piece of plastic hiding a spoiler? Zoom in and you’ll see it’s broken on the right side, but down low we have another prominent clue to this being an RS6 E-Tron. That’s a fairly aggressive diffuser tucked in there, and exhaust pipes are nowhere to be seen.
Add it all up, and we arrive at an Audi RS6 E-Tron. Moreover, our spy sources think this is more of a test mule than a prototype, given the janky nature of the fender flares. Clearly, Audi is moving forward in the development phase as this is the first RS6 prototype we’ve seen with such body modifications. The automaker has already said the RS6 will be more than just an A6 E-Tron with more power, and now we’re seeing what that means in terms of stance. Once the widebody design is finalized, it should be a mean-looking machine.
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That likely means some serious power lurks underneath. Utilizing the PPE platform co-developed with Porsche, 700 horsepower or more certainly isn’t out of the question. All four wheels will manage the power, and lest we forget, this sedan will technically be a hatchback – or liftback, sportback, or whatever back you prefer. Point being, the rear glass will lift to provide a good bit of space to carry things, never mind the space further forward for passengers.
It’ll be a while before we get full disclosure, however. The new A6 E-Tron needs to arrive first, and that’s likely not happening until next year. We could be a year or more away from seeing the RS6 model on the street.
