2024 Audi Q6 e-tron EV to debut advanced lighting tech

The incoming 2024 Audi Q6 e-tron will debut the German car-maker’s second-generation active digital OLED tail-lights that, in combination with Matrix LED headlights, are claimed to take vehicle lighting design and road safety to a new level.

For the first time, the new front and rear light package will allow owners to choose from eight light signatures using the MMI infotainment system of their myAudi phone app.

Making the new tech possible is an individual software module designated to the lighting system in one of the Audi Q6 e-tron’s onboard computers, which was developed by the VW Group’s CARIAD division.

The new OLED tail-lights, meanwhile, feature six 360-segment OLED panels that are capable of generating a new image every 10 milliseconds using a specially designed algorithm.

Up front, the active digital light signature is created using 70 individual LEDs and 12 dimmable segments.

The first generation of Audi’s OLED lamp tech was introduced in the Audi TT RS back in 2016.

The tech uses a semiconductor light source to generate a glow that is said to have perfect homogeneity and high contrast. The other advantage is brightness that’s also adjustable.

It was the 2020 Audi Q5 that allowed owners to select an individual rear light signature for the first time, while the 2022 Audi A8 allowed a choice of four different signatures.

In future, the more sophisticated rear lamps of the Audi Q6 e-tron could be used to communicate via V2X (car-to-everything) tech, using the light source to alert drivers behind of a danger up ahead.

The smart tail-lights will also be able to alert approaching cars and cyclists with a hazard triangle within the lamps when someone is trying to exit the car.

Powered by a 100kWh battery pack, the Audi Q6 e-tron will cover a WLTP-verified 600km on a single charge.

It’s built on the same Volkswagen Group Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture as the incoming Porsche Macan EV, and both models will feature an 800-volt electrical system that enables DC charging up to 270kW.

Set to be available in both traditional SUV wagon and more rakish Sportback body styles, the new Audi Q6 e-tron could boast a dual-electric powertrain that will pump out as much as 450kW of power and 1000Nm of torque.

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