E-Tron GT and RS racing to NZ

The sporty electric that represents the ultimate Audi brand statement and the start of a new era could well be just four months away.

UNVEILED fully today in all its four door coupe glory and potentially on sale here as early as June – Audi’s near-twin to the Porsche Taycan electric car is wasting no time making its big trip to New Zealand.

As previously reported the new all-electric four-door will be offered in two configurations – an entry-level Quattro variant, the grey car pictured, and top-spec RS, seen in a dark hue.

Local pricing and our market’s specifications have yet to be shared by Audi NZ, but at technical level the variants roughly align with the Taycan 4S and Turbo respectively.

Porsche’s cars cost from $203,900 and $289,900 but there’s nothing to suggest the Audi’s will be lineball – quite potentially, there could considerable air between them.

The GT is Audi’s fastest car since the combustion-engined R8 and the flagship is the first electric car from Ingolstadt’s famous RS division. 

Both versions send power to all four wheels, thanks to an electric motor on each axle, and have plenty of spark. 

In normal driving mode the Quattro derives 350kW/630Nm from its dual axle-mounted motors, whereas the RS has a claimed output of 440kW/830Nm.

Engaging the launch control function lends both a brief but significant power bump off the line – the Quattro has 390kW for up to 2.5 seconds, while the RS achieves 475kW for the same duration.

This feature allows the Quattro variant to accelerate from 0–100kmh in a claimed 4.1 seconds on the way to a top speed of 245kmh, Audi’s media information says. 

The RS completes the sprint in a claimed 3.3 seconds and tops out at 250kmh.

Both models run with an 85kWh lithium-ion battery, with an estimated real world range of 488km.

Keeping the performance in check is a comprehensive suite of chassis technology.

The GT gets adaptive damping as standard, while the RS model adds air suspension and an active rear differential.  

All-wheel steering is optional on both, as are carbon ceramic brake discs. The RS version does get tungsten carbide coated discs by default. Under braking, the electric motors provide approximately 0.3 g of regenerative deceleration, which Audi says can achieve a maximum recuperation of 265kW.

 The GT offers with 19-inch rims, but can be optioned to adopt the 21 inchers the RS runs with.

The car is 4990mm long but also low, with a height of just 1410mm. The body is 1960mm wide (not including mirrors), and Audi says the overall shape has a drag coefficient of just 0.24.

The standard cabin features leather-free "sustainable" upholstery, while a leather package can also be optioned.  The cabin uses some of the current Audi switchgear and detailing, but it debuts a lovely new steering wheel and has a simpler centre stack than some models in the range.

A stepped battery layout under the floor has been designed to maximise cabin space, while boot capacity sits at 405 litres. 

The Pre Sense Front and Pre Sense Basic safety systems are fitted as standard on both models, as is lane departure warning. Three optional safety packages are on offer, these being “Tour,” “City,” and “Park.”

Matrix LED headlights are fitted as standard on the RS E-Tron GT and offered as an option on the E-Tron GT Quattro, while Audi’s laser light high beam feature can also be specified on either model. It’s not clear if the camera rear vision mirrors that debuted on the e-tron SUV as an option carry to the GT.

In a brief comment, Audi NZ described the GT as being “a demonstration of how fascinating and exciting electric mobility is – the start of a new era, the Gran Turismo of the future.” It says the car will be here mid-year.

With coronavirus making the usual glam international media launch impossible, Audi ran its launch as a video presentation. That’s included here. There’s a fair bit of chat, but also some interesting video of the cars in action, including a sprint between a Formula E racing car and the RS GT, the latter driven by Nico Rosberg.

Audi’s hot electric uncovered

Spanish website gives preview ahead of official reveal.

SCHEDULED for an unofficial global unwrap tomorrow, Audi’s much anticipated rival to the Tesla Model S has surfaced online ahead of that timeline.

The E-Tron GT electric sedan surfaced on social media with images of what appears to be the completely showroom-ready example published on Spanish car enthusiast community Cochespias.

The GT has been seen camouflaged form under testing, and a concept was displayed by the Volkswagen Group brand in 2018, but this might well be the first look of the car as it will avail to buyers.

Kiwis might have particular excitement, as New Zealand seems set to be an early adopter of the performance-focused four-door coupé, which combines enough rapid performance with rapid charging to match the platform-sharing Porsche Taycan, whose supercar-slaying stomp has won global acclaim.

Audi NZ has signalled the first electric out of Audi that’s been purpose-designed to specifically appeal to the marque’s petrolhead audience, especially fervent in this country, will come here from mid-year.

 It is set to present in the guise seen here and also as a full-blown RS model, the latter being the first electric car from Ingolstadt’s performance tuning operation. Audi appears to have successfully kept the production look of that flagship, seen below during testing, under wraps.

Last October Audi NZ boss Dean Sheed explained to MotoringNZ why he’s comfortable promoting these cars to revheads presently driving fossil-fuelled S and RS models.  

“We’ll definitely be talking to them because they are right in the sweet spot. The reason I say that is because this is the first complete car from Audi Sport … it has a huge credibility and it just happens to also be electric.”

Will the old-school buy into the new way? Sheed reckons he can talk most around to at least thinking about it.

“When people see it, when they understand the technology and when they find out how it drives .. well, they’re going to want it.”

The hero variant is powered by a 440kW/830Nm electric system that will power it to 100kmh in less than 3.5 seconds – thanks to a 475kW output in overboost mode. 

Media says this pales in comparison to the new ‘Plaid’ variants in the most recently updated Tesla Model S, however, which promise 0-100km/h times from 3.2 seconds and right down to “less than 2.0 seconds”. 

Driving range for the E-Tron – at least in RS form – is expected to come in at around 400 kilometres on the WLTP measure, thanks to an 83.7kWh (93kWh gross) battery pack.