Audi has released a handful of teaser renderings of the Q4 e-Tron Concept, an electric compact crossover study. The concept, which will make its début at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, finally unlocks the mystery on when Audi plans to use the Q4 name, the last holdout to the automaker’s Q-family of crossovers and SUVs. Teasers notwithstanding, details about the Q4 e-Tron Concept are scarce at this point, but since it’s carrying the “e-Tron” name, we can at least confirm that this concept will be of the electric persuasion. The Q4 e-Tron Concept’s information mother lode drops in Geneva, which starts on Thursday, March 7, 2019.

What's the 2020 Audi Q4 All About

Teaser renderings can be tricky, at least compared to teaser photos. With the latter, you don’t get to see much of the vehicle that’s being teased, whereas, with the renderings, automakers can show you the whole concept, but there’s still room for the imagination to run. Audi’s teaser renderings of the Q4 e-Tron Concept falls along those lines. We’re actually looking at the concept in all its glory, but we still don’t know if the live concept does justice to its renders. It’s hard to even see the dimensions of the concept because it’s really drawings at this point. By this measure, the Q4 e-Tron Concept looks huge, but we also know, at least based on Audi’s previous statements about the model, that it’s pegged as an entry-level electric crossover that’ll sit below the e-Tron SUV that’s only starting to roll into the market.

There’s a huge discrepancy between the size of the concept in the renderings and Audi’s actual plan for the model. No more is that clear than in the concept’s wheels, which look like they’re at least 22 inches in diameter. Perhaps this is simply a case of an artist going a tad overboard with his drawing, but those wheels - as big as they are already — make the Q4 e-Tron Concept look a lot bigger than the actual concept that we’ll see in Geneva in less than a month’s time.

I’m actually not complaining, for what that’s worth. I look at the Q4 e-Tron Concept renderings and see a visual tour de force of Audi’s electric SUV plans. We already saw a glimpse of what this lineup could turn into with the arrival of the e-Tron SUV. And if the actual Q4 e-Tron Concept looks as aggressive as its rendering suggests, Audi might have a showstopper in its hands.

The concept’s front fascia, for example, looks stunning. The layered LED headlamps are striking in their shape and composition. The (fake) front grille is ridiculously huge, too. Ditto for those air intakes that are also probably fake because of the EV powertrain sitting underneath the massive body. Even the front bumper has a bit of superior quality going for it. There’s an audacity to the renderings that’s hard to ignore. Throw in those bulging body panels, sharp creases, and large wheels, and it certainly looks like the Q4 e-Tron Concept is primed and ready to take center stage at the Geneva Motor Show.

The interior has “concept SUV” written all over it, too. The doors look far from traditional, as well. And unless my eyes deceive me, is that a floating control panel in the center console? At this point, I’m prepared for anything that Audi brings to Geneva. There’s a good chance that the real concept doesn’t look anything like the renderings the automaker just released, but there’s also a good chance that it looks exactly the same as how it’s visualized on paper.

As far as powertrain goes, I expect the Q4 e-Tron concept to carry the same powertrain as the e-Tron SUV. It’ll be detuned, of course, but the two electric motors — one on each axle — should carry enough juice to produce somewhere in the vicinity of 300 horsepower. It’ll be well short of the 400-odd horsepower of the e-Tron SUV, that much I’m sure of. That’s naturally by design since this new concept is pegged as the e-Tron SUV’s little brother.

Speaking of familial love, I’m actually more curious about Audi’s strategy for this new crossover/SUV concept. Is that a hint that hybrid or ICE versions (internal combustion engine) are also in the works? If we’re going to speculate on the concept’s name, it is reasonable to suggest as much.

That’s a question that only Audi can answer at this point. Fortunately, it should have a lot of opportunities to do just that when it unveils the Q4 e-Tron Concept at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show this March.

Further reading

Read our speculative review on the 2020 Audi Q4.

Read our full review on the 2014 Audi TT Offroad Concept.