Recent design efforts from Audi have been a mixed bag of the sublime and the forgettable. While the new A6 Avant stands as a beautifully proportioned hit, vehicles like the Q4 e-tron look suspiciously like they were designed by an exhausted internal memo. A stark contrast to the brand’s supposed commitment to Vorsprung durch Technik (Progress through technology).
This is why the European design overlords at Ingolstadt should perhaps swallow their pride. And maybe take a hard look at what their Chinese counterparts have achieved with the all-electric E5 Sportback.
The E5 Sportback suggests a path forward for Audi’s global EV aesthetics, blending that familiar German precision with a shot of visual audacity. While the standard version already presents a sleek silhouette, the car’s fundamental shape clearly has room for spectacular improvement.
Enter the inspired renderings by Sugar Design, which depict the E5 in a widebody configuration clearly channeling the aggressive spirit of the legendary RS6 Avant. The result is nothing short of brilliant.
Who decreed that every electric vehicle must possess an anonymous visual appeal? This rendered E5 immediately looks more menacing simply by blacking out the front fascia, a piece painted body-color on the standard model. Adopting this dark element makes the complex, intricate LEDs pop, adding necessary visual drama. Furthermore, lowering the car and installing a razor-sharp new splitter contribute to a far more aggressive posture.
In true RS fashion, this imagined E5 Sportback boasts dramatically flared wheel arches, both front and rear, sitting over oversized wheels. These additions, complemented by a contrasting gloss black roof, redefine the car’s presence. The transformation receives a newly blacked-out rear fascia, which has a transforming effect on the vehicle’s overall design.
We hold no illusions that Audi will wholesale adopt these aggressive E5 design cues for global markets. However, given how quickly the model has gained traction and popularity in China, borrowing some of its more muscular aesthetic ideas might just be the urgent visual defibrillator the brand’s global EV lineup desperately needs.
