Audi guns for Defender with rugged off-road EV

Plush go-anywhere electric 4x4 is part of Audi's radical bid to enter new segments

- FELIX PAGE

Autocar can reveal that Audi bosses are on the verge of giving the green light to a go-anywhere electric 4x4 SUV to take on the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes G-Class - a shock move for the German brand as it evaluates a range of bold new products to sit atop new-era EV architecture.

The firm's outlandish new Activesphere concept - a segment-straddling off-road super-saloon (see overleaf) - gives strong clues to Audi's priorities in this segment with its overt focus on outdoor pursuits and rugged design cues and indeed it is set to make production as a tough, Allroad-esque luxury saloon.

But this secret new SUV is a separate project, destined to become reality in around 2027 as part of a strategic push into new segments, facilitated by the formation of new partnerships and platforms.

The new off-roader will not be based on the same PPE architecture that Audi has co-developed with sibling brand Porsche for use across its core EV line-up. Nor will it use the Ford Ranger-derived underpinnings set to provide the basis for an electric Volkswagen 4x4 SUV in the coming years.