Bulging with menace and potential, Audi’s latest off-roader proclaims its abilities from every angle. Given that this latest conquerer of the outdoors comes from the makers of the championship-winning Audi Quattro rally car of the 1980s, those looks are to be taken seriously. Difference here is all-electric power - and that this formidable beast is, for now, just a concept, albeit very much a fully-working concept.

The look is all-important here. As Audi themselves put it: "Innovations always begin with asking the right question. For the Q6 it was: How can we create a highly emotive electric vehicle?” You might say that’s taken care of by everything from those widened arches to accommodate rugged rally-style tyres, to the roof rack which could doubtless carry a couple of spare wheels for when things get really tough - and which doubles as a handy mounting point for powerful LED lighting, to help you carve a path through the Arctic night.

Finish - as we’re sure you’ll want to know - is a standard Audi colourway, Mythos black metallic, which adds to the air of latent menace. But, Audi being Audi, what they’re keener on you knowing are the technical aspects. Two electric motors, one each for front and rear, provide power. There are redesigned axles - similar to those seen on an original Hummer for example - which, Audi say, increase power available to each wheel by half. This reduces top speed - to 108 mph - but increases off-road abilities.

Audi Q6 e-tron: The Quattro reinvented
See that 45 degree gradient over there? That’s Audi Q6 e-tron off-road concept territory. Idea is that this electric vehicle takes exactly the sort of leap that those rally Quattros did in the 1980s. As Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner puts it: “The Q6 e-tron offroad concept is a reinterpretation of Quattro. The model shows the potential that our platform for all electric vehicles already has today. This vehicle can claim new ground.” Literally in this case, we’d say. Particularly if it’s steep ground.

What Audi aren’t saying is if the Q6 e-tron off-road concept will reach production in the pumped up form you see here. But they are keen to see its abilities challenged in the annual F.A.T. Ice Race held on a frozen track at Zell am Zee airport in Austria in early February. Given that more than 10,000 spectators will be there, that says something about the production-ready status of Audi’s latest all-terrain superstar.

If you’d like an on-road taste of what the Q6 e-tron off-road concept can offer, Audi are quick to point that the concept is based on the Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron Quattro - which admittedly looks more like a school run SUV than an off-roader - and that you can order one right now, given you have £95,450 to spare for the fastest SQ6 version which of course you’d want. Ideal transport to the Ice Race in Austria? We’ll happily be a passenger to find out.
Next up: 5 Of the best electric cars to buy in 2025.