Audi unveils Porsche-powered E-Tron GT

Audi has announced the E-Tron GT, an expensive new high-performance electric sedan based on technology developed for Porsche’s first electric vehicle, the Taycan.

Scheduled this spring in Europe, the E-Tron GT will start at € 99,800 with a top-of-the-range RS version starting at € 138,200. It will then come to the United States this summer, with the base GT starting at $ 99,900 and the RS starting at $ 139,900.

For all that money, buyers will get the maximum performance Audi has gotten from an electric car to date. The standard E-Tron GT can produce 350 kW of power, or about 470 horsepower, while the RS version boasts 440 kW, or about 590 horsepower. In overboost mode, those numbers climb to 522 horsepower and 637 horsepower, respectively. With overboost and launch control, the E-Tron GT can sprint to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.1 seconds, and the RS version gets it running in 3.3 seconds. Not bad for a heavy car about 5100 pounds.

Both models achieve this performance with a two-motor all-wheel drive configuration powered by a 93 kWh battery (with 85 kWh of usable energy). The battery also uses 800 volt technology, which not only allows the GT to perform at high levels, but also allows for faster charging. According to Audi, just five minutes will recover 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, of range when connected to a high-speed charging network like Volkswagen’s Electrify America.

If these numbers sound familiar to you, it’s because it’s the exact same setup as the Porsche Taycan. That was the plan for the jump when the GT was first revealed as a concept car at the 2018 LA Auto Show and even made an appearance in Avengers: Endgame. Just as the large Volkswagen Group will share the mass electric car platform of German automaker MEB, the powertrain developed for Porsche’s first electric vehicle has been made available to Audi for the GT, which will exist as a all-electric sound halo vehicle. E-Tron brand. (Namely, it will even be built on the same assembly line as the R8 sports car.)

Audi claims that the base E-Tron GT is expected to get “over 488 km” (or 298 miles) of range on a full charge, although this meets the European WLTP test standard. In its US press release, Audi cites a range of 238 miles for the standard GT and a range of 232 miles for the RS, although these are not official EPA range estimates.

Despite being such an expensive car, the base price of the E-Tron GT will rise even more for buyers who want the German automaker’s most advanced technology. Audi’s Matrix LED headlights, which have an intricate mirror system that can shape light in very specific ways, are an option (but only in Europe). There is also an optional head-up display that can project information onto the windshield. All-wheel steering is available, but only as an option. Bang & Olufsen sound system? Optional.

The more expensive RS model includes some of these features, although its price may also increase depending on the wheels fitted or if the buyer opts for a carbon fiber reinforced roof over the standard glass option. Noise-canceling windows on the side and rear windows are also an option, as are the massage seats.

Both E-Tron GTs come with two screens – a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch touchscreen – which are powered by the latest version of Audi’s infotainment system. This means there is an LTE Advanced chip for built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, navigation powered by Here maps, a companion smartphone app to control door locks and other functions, as well as wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. .

All in all, the E-Tron GT is the busiest electric Audi to date. It’s the kind of thing that might well (in some ways) rival Tesla’s refreshed new Model S, and it gives customers with deep pockets the option of Porsche Taycan-level performance in a different package.

Audi has already shipped tens of thousands of E-Tron SUVs and Sportbacks, its first electric models released in the wake of the Volkswagen Group’s Dieselgate scandal. But the extra capacity that Porsche’s technology offers could help the automaker rob luxury car buyers who were previously discouraged by the lack of range of the original E-Tron (or its most direct competitor. , the Mercedes-Benz EQC). Beyond that, the E-Tron GT will now serve as the flagship for Audi’s push into EVs, the car all other Audi EVs will be measured against, as most customers will inevitably be content with something more achievable.