Audi unveils e-tron Sportback at LA Motor Show

Audi has debuted a slightly souped up version of the e-tron Sportback at the ongoing LA Motor Show.

This is the company's second all-electric car and is a sportier take on the e-tron that is expected to be launched in India soon.

However, the new Sportback doesn't only get a new design but also some tech updates as well.

Visually, as the name suggests, the rear of the SUV now has a roof that slopes into the back with a high notchback bootlid.

Even the bodywork has undergone changes. For example, there is slightly more glass body cladding and a sharper glass area. The bumper is more aggressive, the grille is broader and the headlamps too are wider and slimmer than before.

While on the subject of headlamps, the Sportback debuts Audi's digital matrix LED lighting technology. This involves what the company calls a digital micromirror device, a small chip that contains one million mirrors, each of which is no larger than one-hundredth of a mm. The management said each of these mirrors can be tilted 5,000 times a second, making it extremely flexible and allowing light to be projected more efficiently.

EV architecture of the e-tron Sportback has also changed. While it uses the same basic architecture, its range has increased to 446 km. This has been achieved using a slightly denser 95 kWh battery pack, better braking efficiency and better aerodynamics. The e-tron still gets the same motors as the standard e-tron.

Expect the Audi e-tron Sportback to go on sale internationally by mid-2020 and the Indian market by the end of next year.