Yahoo Autos The Audi A6 E-Tron Has Heat-Reflecting Paint
At Auto Shanghai, Audi unveiled the A6 E-Tron Concept. Notably, this is the first car to sit on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) co-developed by Audi and Porsche for a host of future EV models. But we're equally intrigued by the paint.
Audi calls this color Heliosilver, and while the shade is quite nice (as silvers go), it's not what's interesting about it. "It can reflect a significant percentage of the thermal radiation in sunlight, thus reducing the amount of energy that enters the car's body and, above all, its interior," Audi says in a press release. As a result, the cabin gets less hot on a sunny day, and A/C isn't required, helping conserve battery life. Air conditioning draws heavily an EV's battery as it takes a lot of energy to cool down an entire interior. And with an EV, any energy you can save for driving is very good.
This car is a concept, but Audi says that it's largely representative of an upcoming production car. The German brand quotes a range figure of more than 430 miles on the (admittedly quite generous) European WLTP test cycle. How much the heat-reflective paint contributes to that figure is unknown, but in the real world, every range-saving trick makes a difference.
Despite the fact that this concept has a hatchback like the A7, Audi calls this an A6 because it shares the same exterior dimensions as the mid-size sedan. It also forces us into thinking about a future where long-running Audi nameplates go electric. Porsche has already announced that the next-generation Macan will ride on this new platform, and perhaps the same will be true with the next A6.
Audi says that the PPE architecture is designed to accommodate a number of different vehicles, from sedans to crossovers. This platform isn't the same as the J1 platform that underpins the Audi E-Tron GT and Porsche Taycan, but per Autoblog, PPE will also be able to accommodate features like air suspension, four-wheel steering. That's not the case with the Volkswagen Group's new MEB platform, which is designed for smaller, more affordable EVs.
The first Audi model riding on PPE will hit production in 2022, and while the brand didn't say what that model is specifically, it seems safe to assume it'll be something like this concept. According to Automotive News, we should see the all-electric Macan in 2022 as well, and in the coming years, there will be a Bentley riding on this platform.
So paint aside, this is a very important product for Audi. Even more so than the E-Tron GT and Q4 E-Tron released earlier this year, this car represents the future of the brand.
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