What's this then?

This is Audi's E-Tron quattro prototype, an all-electric SUV which is scheduled to on sale in Europe towards the end of this year.

Beaten to the punch by Jaguar's I-Pace, then?

Yup, but you can bet on the Audi to be a total sales monster. It's quite conventional-looking, under the camouflage wrap, and should boast a 311-mile (500km) range on a single charge.

Should?

Yeah, Audi isn't saying anything for definite yet, it's just confirming that the car has been designed to accept 30-minute ultra-rapid charges from a 150kW charger system, and that it's supposed to be able to knock off long trans-European journeys with only quick stops to top up the batteries. Oh, and it'll be built in a carbon-neutral factory near Brussels, Belgium.

"Audi sets an important milestone for the company's future with its first purely electrically powered model," said Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi. "In 2020 we will have three all-electric vehicles in our product range, with a four-door Gran Turismo - the production version of the Audi e-tron Sportback concept - and a model in the compact segment joining the sporty SUV. We will be launching more than 20 electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 2025 - spread across all segments and concepts," the Audi CEO explained.

Presumably a lot of testing has gone into this?

Oh yes. 250 prototypes have been built, and all have been used and abused over three million miles of testing, including runs in northern Sweden at -20 degrees, and Africa in 50 degree heat. Some of the prototypes, covered in the distinctive camouflage wrap, were pounding the roads of Geneva during the motor show, and showgoers were encouraged to play at being spy photographers and post pictures of the cars as they spotted them.