Want an SQ6 e-tron with less practicality? Meet the new SQ6 Sportback e-tron

Like the idea of an Audi SQ6 – a practical performance SUV motivated by electricity – but want less of its… practicality? Then boy, do we have some Good News for you! This is the new Audi SQ6 Sportback e-tron.

We suspect it’ll be Good News for a fair few of you, since Audi tells us the Sportback-ed Q6 is “one of the most popular body designs among customers”. As with the SQ6 SUV and SQ5, this electrified Sportback sits on the PPE platform co-developed with Porsche.

And residing in this PPE platform sits a 100kWh battery, which in the SQ6 Sportback is allied to a dual motor AWD setup churning out 482bhp. That’s 27 less than in the SQ6 SUV, though it manages the same 0-62mph time of 4.3s. Top speed is 143mph. Both of those numbers are what you’d call ‘very fast indeed’.

Probably why Audi’s made a big deal of it looking… fast, while calling up one of its stone-cold classics in the process. “Echoing the first-generation Audi TT Coupe, the Sportback’s sloping roofline enhances its sporty aesthetics,” Audi explains. Indeed, “the vehicle’s silhouette flows gracefully, resembling a streamlined drop of water”.

While ‘streamlined’ and ‘graceful’ aren’t exactly the words we’d use to describe something in excess of two tonnes that sits so high, it’s certainly a distinctive shape. Though, it doesn’t sit as high – this one’s been dropped by 37mm over its SQ6 SUV sibling.

And all Q6 SUV variants as it happens. Which again, points to Audi aiming this Sportback more towards the schporty end of the spectrum. Audi points out the redesigned front axle and optimised axle kinematics that promise dynamism, agility and good steering response. Lesser Q6 Sportback e-trons get passive damping, while the SQ6 gets adaptive air suspension.

Yes, there are lesser Q6 Sportback e-trons available. An entry-level version comes with an 83kWh battery, a single rear-mounted motor, 249bhp, a 0-62mph time of 7.0s and claimed range of 339 miles.

More arrives in the form of the Q6 Sportback e-tron ‘performance’, whose unwieldy name allows for a shorter sprint to 62mph (6.6s) via the 100kWh battery and more power (302bhp). The even longer-named Q6 Sportback e-tron performance quattro gets two motors, 382bhp and a 0-62mph time of 5.9s. Range on this latter car is a claimed 395 miles, while the SQ6 gets up to 377 miles.

All of course get the 800v architecture offered by the PPE base, fast charging, and all the interior and exterior tech afforded by the Q6 e-tron SUV launched earlier this year. Which means the MMI panoramic display, virtual cockpit, many screens, optional augmented reality HUD, some voice control and – watch what you say – ChatGPT.

Oh, right, we said ‘less practical’. Where the Q6 SUV gets 526-litres of boot, and 1,526-litres when you fold the rear seats down, the Sportback offers… a bit less (511/1,373 litres). If you only stack things in litres, you will notice this difference.

UK prices will be confirmed soon, but in Germany, the range starts from €66,100, rising to €96,200 for the SQ6.