550PS Audi S6 e-tron starts from £97,500

Both models are built on Audi’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE) underpinning and pack a 100kWh battery for a WLTP and a motor on each axle for four-wheel drive and a combined 550PS (405kW), while standard launch control fires them from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds. The top speed is reined to 149mph to avoid dumping all your battery power in seconds.  

The S6 Sportback has a range of 405 miles, dropping to 388 miles for the Avant, and can complete a 10-80 per cent charge in around 20 minutes using a fast charger. Brake recuperation that can collect up to 220kW and a heat pump help preserve your range. 

Both S6 models feature rear-biassed four-wheel drive – though we’ll need to drive the cars before we can comment on its effectiveness – and you get air suspension, which can drop the cars by 20mm for efficient cruising. 

As you’d expect of an Audi, the interior is plush with a curved design housing the 11.9-inch driver’s display and 14.5-inch touchscreen. They’re hooked up to AI that can learn your routines and has voice activation. 

The S6 gets Edition 1 levels of specification, including 20 or 21-inch alloy wheels, an exterior black pack, matrix headlights, LED daytime running lights, and OLED tail lights you can personalise, as well as display warning signals to following traffic. 

Inside, you get soft-close doors, an additional 10.9-inch passenger display, diamond-stitched Nappa leather with ventilated and massaging front seats, plus a Bang & Olufsen 3D stereo with speakers mounted in the front headrests. The standard panoramic glass roof can turn opaque at the touch of a button, and an Augmented Reality Head-Up display appears to float 200m up the road in front of you.

Audi also took this opportunity to reveal pricing for the standard 380PS (280kW) A6 e-tron, which starts from £69,900 (for a Sportback in Sport trim) and tops out at £80,200 for an Avant in Edition 1 specification. Both the A6 and the S6 are on sale now.