DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Audi Allroad Shooting Brake

Audi has just laid bare its plans to knock the Mercedes-Benz GLA 45 AMG crossover out of the park.

Its tri-motor Allroad Shooting Brake show car is a combination of tech boss, Ulrich Hackenberg, flexing his engineering muscle and Audi telling its rivals that there’s no niche it won’t plug.

The Allroad shooting brake combines two electric motors and a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine to deliver 300kW of power, 650Nm of torque and 0-100km/h sprints in just 4.6 seconds.

While the numbers are verging on supercar status, the fuel consumption goes full Prius, boasting an NEDC fuel economy figure of 1.9 litres/100km.

That’s largely thanks to its ability to cover up to 50km as a pure electric car, but it also has a full Hybrid mode to bounce between motors, plus a Sports mode that combines them all for maximum traction and maximum speed.

“The show car combines sex appeal, highly efficient e-tron-quattro technology that produces 300kW of power yet brings 123.8 miles per gallon and cutting-edge electronics applications,” said Professor Doctor Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Audi in charge of Technical Development.

“We are offering very concrete glimpses of the near future in this show car.”

By using the term “show car”, though, Audi is hinting that “near future” won’t be in the next year, a timeframe it traditionally marks by using the term “concept car”.

It’s a tri-motor in a very different way to the Junkers JU-52 WWII-era transport plane. The two-door crossover will be powered by no fewer than three motors: a high-powered 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and a disc-shaped electric motor up front, then another electric motor powering the rear wheels.

The disc-shaped electric motor up front is nestled between the four-cylinder engine and the six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

In Allroad Shooting Brake guise, the petrol motor generates 215kW of power and 380Nm of torque, with both numbers at the upper end of the range for the 2.0-litre, which combines direct and indirect fuel injection.

The electric motor, which latches on to the engine via an electronically controlled decoupling clutch, has 40kW but a strong 270Nm of torque.

The car can be driven with both motors working in harness, or with the electric motor acting as a generator to recharge the Allroad Shooting Brake’s batteries.

The cozy arrangement of the front-mounted motors leaves the rear electric motor feeling isolated. It sits alone, it works alone and it’s not even allowed to lend drive to the front wheels.

The 85kW motor has 270Nm of instant torque and it’s this motor that does all the work when the car is in its pure electric mode. That means the Allroad Shooting Brake is a rear drive electric car, a front drive hybrid with on-demand all-wheel drive or an all-wheel drive off-roader or sports car. Take your pick.

The ultimate part of this powertrain is what Audi is calling e-tron quattro, which gives it an all-new type of all-wheel drive. It plans to use the rear motor to add extra traction in normal running, so it’s a bit like an electric version of a Haldex part-time all-wheel drive system.

Just ahead of the rear motor, under the rear seats, sits eight lithium-ion battery modules with 8.8kW/h of energy storage.

Audi has given the Allroad Shooting Brake a tough stance, with higher ground clearance than normal and 19-inch alloy wheels, girt by 255/40 R19 custom tyres. It clearly pays homage to the A4- and A6-based Allroad wagon series, hinting that Audi will bring the critic’s choice version of its mainstream models down into its smaller machinery.

The Allroad Shooting Brake takes its MacPherson Strut front suspension, four-link rear end and electric steering from the A3’s MQB architecture, which gives it a 4.2 metre long body that is also 1.85 metres wide and only 1.4 metres high.

Riding on a 2.51-metre wheelbase, the Allroad Shooting Brake has allowed Audi to stretch its design language by combining traditional Allroad cues with e-tron touches and a handful of future sports car hints.

While its body panels are either made from aluminium or a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, it gives some credence to its off-road pretences by hosting a milled aluminium undertray at either end.

Inside, it’s a mix of hardcore and luxury in odd mixes. The front seats, for example, are unforgiving, narrow and hard core, right down to their integrated headrests.

But then there is the Alcantara roof lining, there are a variety of leathers scattered throughout the cabin and there is also a mix of dark and light aluminium.

The centre console moves in lock step with the seat, so that Audi’s preferred ergonomic angles remain in place regardless of where you sit, and there is a 12.3-inch multimedia screen complete with 3D graphics.

There is also a quick release for the front seats to access the two rear seats, both of which fold into a flat floor to store large sporting equipment.

Get the latest motoring.com.au news from the Detroit motor show

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...

Don't forget to register to comment on this article.