You Can Order The Audi e-tron quattro Right Now - But There's A Catch

Audi is clearly taking this whole EV thing very seriously, as it's just announced that it's begun taking reservations for the production version of the e-tron quattro concept from 2015, according to Electrek. There's a catch, however. This pre-order applies only to those living in Norway, a country well-known for its love of EVs. Taking a page right out of Tesla's pre-order playbook, Audi won't even tell these interested, EV-loving Norwegian customers the SUV's final sticker price.

But a 20,000 kroner ($2,500) deposit is still required to reserve one. As we previously reported, Audi has decided to axe the Q7 e-tron in favor of building a completely unique all-electric crossover instead, and the e-tron quattro concept fits the bill nicely. It'll supposedly have a 310-mile range thanks to its 95 kWh battery pack, thus making it competitive against Tesla's most expensive Model S and Model X trims. In terms of overall dimensions, expect the e-tron quattro to slot between the Q5 and Q7. But what could really be an industry shaker is the possible base price. For example, the Q5 and Q7, as Electrek also points out, start off at $41,000 and $49,000, respectively.

If Audi were to give the e-tron quattro a similar starting MSRP, then it'd seriously undermine the Tesla Model X, which only begins at $74,000, before tax incentives. No word as to when Audi will begin offering pre-orders for the rest of the world, but we imagine it'll get underway relatively soon because e-tron quattro production is expected to begin later this year.