Audi just unveiled its latest addition to their ever growing range of electric vehicles. It goes by the name Audi E-Tron GT, and much like its main rival represents a sleek four door sedan with almost ‘gran coupe’ like roofline. It is without a doubt, one of the most visualy interesting and should we say even beautiful designs, to come from Audi design team in the last decade.
With the E-Tron GT, Audi aims to offer better balance of everyday usability and sports performance than their main rivals Tesla Model S and before mentioned Porsche Taycan, with whoom it shares it basic arhitecture with. From the start it will be available in two variants, regular quattro and RS variant, which will also be one of Audi’s most powerful production cars in history.
Both models feature dual electric motor setup with two speed transmission for better performance and all wheel drive for better traction. It incorporates Audi’s new 800V electrical arhitecture, which coupled with 86kWh battery is good for WLTP electric range of 488 km. If you opt for the less powerful model it offers you 476 HP and 630 NM of torque, while the more powerful RS version offers you a healthier 598 HP and 830 Nm of torque. That is enough for 0 to 100 km/h in just 3,3 seconds while topping out at a limited 255 km/h.
The more powerful RS model also gets adaptive suspension as standard, while it remains optional on the e-tron GT Quattro. The three-chamber air suspension system works in conjunction with electronic dampers and can be adjusted to lower or raise the car, dependent on the situation.
The controlled dampers, which are standard across the range, also work in tandem with the Audi Drive Select dynamic handling system. With four modes to chose from — “comfort,” “efficiency,” “dynamic,” and “individual — the air suspension, dampers, electric motors, two-speed transmission, and controlled rear-axle differential lock come together to offer different driving characteristics, as would be expected.
Audi is also making sure to emphasise that new E-Tron GT is a practical 4 seater, capable of transporting 4 adults in comfort. We know that Taycan is not exactly very good in this area so we are very interested to see, if Audi actually trumps it in rear passenger space. Where we know for sure that it is better than its main rival is luggage capacity. While Porsche Taycan offers a total of 447 liters, the Audi E-Tron GT offers a more healthy 490 liters, with 405 of those liters at the boot, and 85 liters at the front.
We were actually very surprised to find, that its interior actually looks a lot more conventional than either of its rivals, and in our book that is a huge bonus. It looks like Audi figured out, that people actually prefer to have some physical buttons, and not just touchscreens everywhere. You still get Audi’s great Virtual cockpit digital dials, and a big central touchscreen display to satisfy those tech enthusiasts, everything else is(thankfully) button operated and therefore more intuitive.
E-Tron GT also allows 270 kW extra fast charging, which is said to charge the battery from 5% to 80% in just 22,5 minutes, but you are probably more interested in a standard 11 kW AC home charging and even optional 22kW charger also being offered for home use. The production will take place later this year at Audi Böllinger Höfe at Neckarsulm in Germany, with prices in Germany starting at 99.800€ for the quattro, and 138.200€ for the RS model.
