China loves its premium sedans stretched, and the market is littered with elongated wheelbase variants of the regular German offerings. The Audi A6 L is one such stretched example, and now a new e-tron version joins the range, which is basically a plug-in hybrid derivative.
Under the hood of the Audi A6 L e-tron sits a turbocharged, four-cylinder, 2.0-litre TFSI engine which itself produces 211 hp of power. Paired to a 122 hp electric motor integrated into the eight-speed tiptronic gearbox and drawing juice from a boot mounted 14.1kWh lithium-ion battery, the combined power output is rated at 245hp, while torque stands at 500Nm. Fuel consumption is an astounding 45.44 km/l. The A6 L e-tron completes the o-100 km/h dash in 8.4 seconds, despite weighing the thick end of 2 tons, while the top speed is limited to 210km/h.
Courtesy of the battery, the A6 L e-tron has a purely electric range of 50km, while the total range is rated at 880km. The battery can be fully charged in approximately two hours with a high power outlet and charging cable ,while using less endowed power outlets will stretch the time to more than eight hours.
The tree-hugging A6 L e-tron also has different driving modes like the “EV” mode which prioritizes the electric power use to speeds up to 135km/h, a “Hybrid” mode which leaves the system to operate for the best possible efficiency and a “Battery Hold” mode which sends all the available energy into charging the battery. The new Audi A6 L e-tron is expected to be launched on the Chinese market in 2016 and will be produced in the northern Chinese city of Changchun by an Audi joint venture with FAW-Volkswagen.
