The new A6 e-tron is the most aerodynamic Audi ever

Prepare yourselves: Audi is mixing up badges again. Uh-oh.

From now on, all odd-numbered cars (like the new A5, which replaced the A4) are combustion-engined. Even-numbered cars, like this new A6 e-tron, are electric. Confused? Don’t worry. Audi was. The Q8 is combustion and electric. Whoops.

Anyway, the all-new A6 is here on its co-developed Porsche platform… and it manages to make a very slippery hole in the air without looking like a slug on wheels. Are you listening, Mercedes EQE?

The A6 Sportback (see, it’s a hatchback now, not a saloon because that’s less draggy) has a drag factor of 0.21. Yes, that’s a weird little number, but look at the details. The flush grille up front, the shuttered duct below it which only opens when the car motors demand cooling. The ‘air curtains’ guiding flow around the front bumper.

Underneath, there are ramps to channel air around the turbulent tyres. They’re a different shape on the Sportback to the Avant, because the long-roof wagon has a different aero profile.

So different in fact, Audi had to fit a fence into its diffuser to balance the aero out. And as a result, it is slightly less aerodynamic: 0.24 Cd. But that’s enough to eke a claimed 447 miles out of the 100kWh battery. The Sportback claims 466 miles.

For the aero-obsessed, you can help the cause. There will be flat-faced wheel designs, and you can option ‘virtual door mirrors’ which are less vulnerable now because they fold at last. Audi says the cameras are so much less draggy than mirrors, they alone add four miles of extra range. Whether or not that’s worth the money – or their less than ideal visibility on a dark wet night – is up to you.

Inside, Audi’s popped the screens displaying what the cameras see higher onto the door, supposedly more in your eyeline. Your eyes have five screens to choose from – besides one for each ‘mirror’ there’s a large (11.9in) instrument display for the driver, a ginormous (14.5in) widescreen in the centre to share, and the passenger gets their own slightly smaller (10.9in) monitor which they definitely won’t prod for 30 seconds then go back to swiping TikTok on their phone.

We’ve already had a good poke around inside the new A6 (see below) and found that despite the battery slung below your ankles, there’s decent space for adults in both rows of seats and the boot doesn’t appear compromised either. While you’re round the back, enjoy the twinkling tail lights which get brighter as the car behind follows closer, warning them to back off. An anti-tailgating feature… on an Audi. Where do they get their ideas?

BMW might be a little salty Audi is invading its ‘kings of rear wheel drive’ cachet: the new A6 is indeed RWD in single-motor form, putting out 362bhp. If that and a 5.4sec 0-62mph time is too sluggish for you, then the quattro-drive dual-motor S6 e-tron (pictured above) will be along in just 3.9sec, thanks to 496bhp.

If you plump for the S6, range drops to 416 miles in the Sportback and 397 miles for the S6 Avant. TG believes a Plaid/Taycan-chasing RS6 e-tron will top the range off next year.

For now, A6 Avant prices will kick off somewhere around £70k, with a Sportback around £2k less. A less powerful model with a price closer to £60k will follow later on.

Question is, who’s got the EV formula just right? BMW, with its conventional i5 (just a 5 Series with batteries inside), or Audi, making a bespoke EV that doesn’t look as slippery as a Mercedes EQE, but is easier for the eyes to accept?