Audi unveils its Porsche-powered E-Tron GT

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

Due to this spring in Europe, the E-Tron GT will start at € 99,800 with a top-specific RS version starting at € 138,200. It then comes in the summer on the outside, with the base GT starting at $ 99,900 and the RS starting at $ 139,900.

For all the money, buyers will get the best performance that Audi has squeezed out of an electric car so far. The standard E-Tron GT can deliver 350 kW of power, or about 470 horsepower, while the RS version boasts 440 kW or about 590 horsepower. In the boom mode, the numbers are 522 horsepower and 637 horsepower, respectively. With too much control and launch control, the E-Tron GT can jump to 100 kilometers per hour within 4.1 seconds, and the RS version lets it run in 3.3 seconds. Not bad for a car that weighs about 5,100 pounds.

Both models achieve performance with a two-engine four-wheel drive setup powered by a 93kWh battery pack (with 85kWh of usable energy). The battery also uses 800 volt technology, which not only allows the GT to perform at high levels, but also charges faster. Audi says just five minutes will reach 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, of range if connected to a high-speed charging network like Volkswagen’s Electrify America.

Image: Audi

If the numbers sound familiar, it’s exactly the same lineup as the Porsche Taycan. This was the plan from the start when the GT was first unveiled as a concept car at the 2018 LA Auto Show and even made an appearance in Avengers: Endgame. Just as the larger Volkswagen group will share the German carmaker’s MEB electric car platform, the propulsion system developed for Porsche’s first EV has been made available to Audi for the GT, which exists as a halo vehicle of its fully electric motor. E-Tron brand. (For example, it will even be built on the same assembly line as the R8 sports car.)

Audi says that the basic E-Tron GT should get a distance of more than 488 km (or 298 miles) at full load, even though it is according to the European WLTP test standard. In its US press release, Audi mentions a range of 238 miles for the standard GT and a 232 miles for the RS, although these are not official estimates from the EPA.

Despite being such an expensive car, the base price of the E-Tron GT will climb even higher for buyers who want the German carmaker’s most advanced technology. Audi’s Matrix LED headlights, with a complex mirror system that can shape the light in very specific ways, are an option (although only in Europe). There is also an optional head screen that can project information on the windshield. Four-wheel drive is available, but only as an option. Bang & Olufsen sound system? Optional.

The more expensive RS model incorporates some of these features, though the price can also rise depending on which wheels are fitted or if the buyer opts for a carbon fiber reinforced roof over the standard glass option. Soundproof glass on the side and rear windows is also an option, as are massage seats.

Both E-Tron GTs have two screens – a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch touchscreen – powered by the latest version of Audi’s information system. That means there is an LTE Advanced disk for on-board Wi-Fi connectivity, Here maps navigation, an accompanying smartphone app for controlling door locks and other features, and CarPlay and Android Auto wireless.

Overall, the E-Tron GT is the most charged Audi to date. This is the kind of thing that can (in some respects) compete properly with Tesla’s new refreshed Model S, and it offers customers with deep pockets the option to offer 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 to be released following the Volkswagen Group’s Volkswagen Gate scandal. But the extra capability offered by Porsche’s technology could help the carmaker steal buyers of luxury cars previously deterred by the flawed range of the original E-Tron (or its most direct competition, the Mercedes-Benz EQC). In addition, the E-Tron GT will now serve as the standard carrier for Audi’s pressure on electric vehicles, the car against which all other Audi EVs will be measured, as most customers will inevitably settle for something more feasible.