A bit excessive, certainly, but we love this Audi concept!

Audi has transformed one of its electric SUVs into a spectacular all-terrain concept car, the Q6 Sportback E-Tron Offroad.

This unique prototype has undergone a complete metamorphosis by Audi’s most daring engineers, notably incorporating portal axles. This rare technology on production vehicles offers significant advantages in off-road conditions.

But what is a portal axle? This drivetrain system places gears at the ends of the axles, near the wheels, to artificially increase ground clearance underneath the axle. In practical terms, this mechanism allows the central axis of the wheels to be lowered relative to the axle housing. Audi does not go into details but states that this innovation is a new technological advance. We should pause here because it is a known technology that has been used for a long time in military vehicles and appears on a few limited series models. Among them are the Mercedes G-Class with six wheels and the Hummer H1.

This Q6 Offroad concept, unveiled by Audi Sport, is based on off-road tires from Venom Power Terra Hunter X/T, and features monstrous wheel arches and a roof rack equipped with a ramp of additional lights, which are probably very effective but certainly not discreet. Anyway, discretion does not seem to be part of the design brief. We are looking at an extreme model designed to handle extreme conditions, as evidenced by the front bumper that appears to have been cut with a chainsaw to improve the approach angle.

Audi has not specified on which model this prototype is based, but it is safe to assume it is the high-performance SQ6 E-Tron version. The SQ6 features all-wheel drive, a 94.4 kWh battery, and develops 483 horsepower.

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