Audi Q6 Electric SUV (aka Audi e-tron quattro) already on sale – but not in the UK

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The Audi Q6 SUV – which could be the Audi e-tron quattro – is Audi’s 2018 electric answer to the Tesla Model X, and it’s already gone on sale in Norway.

The Audi e-tron quattro concept bowed in at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2015, previewing what is to become a production model aimed right at Tesla’s Model X electric SUV. And despite there being no production version yet, it’s already on sale.

But before you get too excited and break out the cheque book, you’ll only be able to place an order for the e-tron quattro if you’re one of our Norwegian readers.

Norway may seem an odd place to put Audi’s electric SUV on sale first, but when you consider that Norway’s ample, and cheap, electricity has seen the Scandinavian country become the world’s biggest lover of EVs – nearly 40 per cent of new cars registered in Norway in 2016 were EVs – it makes sense.

So although we’re yet to see a production version of the e-tron quattro, Audi Norway are already offering buyers the chance to put down a £2,500 deposit to secure their car ahead of the rest of the world.

What the Norwegian buyers are signing up for is a stylised electric SUV with three motors delivering 435bhp (and up to 503bhp for short blats) and 590lb/ft of torque, able to get to 62mph in 4.6 seconds and with a range of 310 miles. Proper Tesla-bashing territory.

When the production version of the e-tron quattro concept arrives next year (2018), it may retain its concept name despite Audi suggesting it would be the Audi Q6.

It seems Audi are a bit concerned that calling it the Q6 will raise expectations on price, with buyers assuming it will be more expensive than a Q5, but cheaper than a Q7 (or the new Q8).

In reality, the new electric Audi SUV is likely to be a chunk more than any other Audi SUV.