Audi e-tron SUV , New all-electric 2018

New all-electric 2018 Audi e-tron SUV: fresh spy shots 

Audi's upcoming Tesla Model X fighter is nearly here, and these latest spy shots are our best look at it yet

 Audi’s upcoming all-electric e-tron SUV has been spied testing once again, and the wraps are slowly coming off the firm’s Tesla Model X rival ahead of its anticipated reveal early next year.

With sales intended to begin in 2018, the e-tron spied here wears a light disguise as it undergoes final assessment from Audi engineers, and the profile of the production e-tron chimes nicely with the overall shape presented on the 2015 concept car.

The masking at the front end suggests that despite the e-tron more or less retaining its concept proportions – shorter rear overhang exempted - some design elements will be toned down. For instance, the car’s face will be more contemporary and in line with the rest of the Audi range, and the protective cladding on the sides of the car has shrunk in size. 

It will fire the starting gun on a range of new Audi full-EVs under the new e-tron badge, and will boast an all-electric powertrain capable of 311 miles on a single charge. It’ll serve as an Audi rival for established electric SUVs like the Tesla Model X, and will also go straight into battle with the all-new Jaguar I-Pace, also due next year.

Audi e-tron: naming strategy and future Audi EVs

Audi boss Rupert Stadler has long confirmed that his firm's e-tron electric SUV concept will make its debut as a production ready car in early 2018, but has hinted that it is unlikely to use Q6 badge - something widely anticipated during the concept car's reveal. The electric SUV will be the first of three pure-EV Audis due by 2020.

• Geneva Motor Show 2017: news

“There is first [of the three models] isl an SUV,” Stadler told us at the Geneva Motor Show back in March. “We decided to go the SUV way because, even though the architecture is a little more difficult because you don’t have the perfect aerodynamics, people love to sit in an SUV and we have to respect the growing trend of SUV segments. I think this was two or three years ago absolutely the right decision.”
However, Stadler also suggested that the market positioning of the new model may mean that it changes its name from Q6 - despite the fact that it had been expected to slot in between the Q5 and the Q7 in Audi's line-up.

“E-tron is a very strong brand and you will judge that in five years time,” said Stadler. “In that respect we are the most consistent brand ever. We first communicated e-tron about four or five years ago and we stuck to the concept of e-tron.
“However, I would not like to limit the nomenclature for the first car, because Q6 fixes the price as well as Q8 is fixing a price, and I would like to feel free.”

That's a hint that the cost of the battery tech required to deliver the 300-plus miles of range is going to push the price of the car closer to - or even beyond - that of the Q7. Audi could get around this conundrum by giving the first e-tron a name that sits outside of its normal structure, albeit with the 'e-tron' suffix.

While the name hasn’t been fully confirmed, the sleek profile and chiselled styling of the concept car show the electric SUV’s positioning as a rival for the Tesla Model X, as well as conventionally-fuelled rivals such as the BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupe. Audi claims that the sporty appearance and sealed underbody offer a class-leading drag coefficient of 0.25cd.
Audi bosses claim the production version will be “sexy”, “packed with utility” and “sporty.” They also confirmed its debut will coincide with big developments in the charging infrastructure.