► Based on the Porsche Taycan’s J1 platform
► In RS and quattro trims
► Available spring 2021
Audi has revealed the e-Tron GT, the second bespoke EV in its newly-formed e-Tron range, and the second from the VW Group to sit on the J1 platform – the first being Porsche’s Taycan. This world reveal of the electric coupe comes two years since the concept was first unveiled, and around a year since its Porsche Taycan cousin was first shown in production form.
Audi goes electric: what you need to know
Ingolstadt is releasing the electric coupe in two flavours initially, e-Tron GT quattro and then a more powerful RS e-Tron GT trim. Both will be available in spring 2021. The prices of all the various trims can be found below, but keep reading for the tech, design and performance stories.
Audi e-tron GT prices
- e-Tron GT quattro £79,900
- e-Tron GT quattro Vorsprung £106,000
- RS e-Tron GT £110,950
- RS e-Tron GT Carbon Black £124,540
- RS e-Tron GT Vorsprung £133,340
It looks familiar…
Just like the Porsche Taycan, the impact of the e-Tron GT has been somewhat marred by its similarity to the concept car revealed back in 2018. It seems Ingolstadt has been able to carry over almost all its ideas to fruition, which is no bad thing.
The exterior of the car, which Marc Lichte, Audi’s head of design, describes as the most beautiful car he has ever drawn, follows the same proportions of the Taycan. Just under five metres long with a 2.9-metre wheelbase, it certainly looks like a GT car, and features all the hallmarks you’d expect of Audi’s design house.
‘I’m really proud about this car,’ Audi’s head of design Marc Lichte told CAR. ‘For me it’s up to now the highlight I have to say in my career. You know the challenge is always to put the battery pack which is located in the floor, so for us designers the basis for good design is the package, and this package is gorgeous.’
Like the e-Tron SUV, the Audi’s ‘singleframe’ grille is blocked with sensors, due to its EV powertrain’s lack of cooling demands, and there are also a few other nice touches. Both the front and rear light clusters feature the same circuit-board-style lighting treatment, and its sleek shape and various ducts hustle air around the car. The latter helps the e-Tron GT reach a drag efficient of 0.24Cd – crucial for an EV.
What’s underneath then?
Both e-Tron GT cars start off with an 800-volt, 93kWh battery and four-wheel drive. That’s where the similarities end, though, as the models have differing power levels – as well as a 2.5-second boost mode for extreme performance.
The e-Tron GT quattro delivers 469bhp in total and 523bhp in boost mode, while the RS makes 590bhp normally and 637bhp in boost mode. Torque is 465lb ft in the standard GT, and 612lb ft in the RS. Those figures translate to 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 152mph for the standard GT, and 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 155mph for the RS.
The e-Tron GT quattro wins on range, with a WLTP figure of 295 miles, compared to the RS’s 280.
What’s the chassis like?
Although it uses the same platform as the Taycan, expected a softer, more compliant ride. The standard suspension uses a double-wishbone configuration made mainly from aluminium, and electronic damping is also offered.
Go for the RS e-Tron GT or the high-spec Vorsprung trim of the standard car, and you’ll also get three-chamber adaptive air suspension. Rear-wheel steering is also included in the RS and Vorsprung GT; under 31mph and the rear wheels move up to 2.8º in the opposite direction, and over 31mph they turn the same direction.
Crucial to the handling experience, though, is the different driver modes on offer. Like other Audis the e-Tron can be placed in Comfort, Efficiency, Dynamic and Individual modes. Efficiency mode limits the top speed to 87mph.
What else is different between the e-Tron GT and the RS?
RS e-Tron GT models feature 10-piston brake calipers with discs coated in tungsten carbide – another carryover from Porsche, which originally debuted the technology on the latest Cayenne. Audi says carbonfibre-ceramic stoppers will eventually be available as an option.
Where will it be made?
The e-Tron will begin to roll out of Audi’s Bollinger Hofe site in Neckarsulm, though it’ll share the facility with a car that sits at the opposite side of the performance-car spectrum, the Audi R8. Still, the Neckarsulm site has green credentials already, as its construction used 100% eco-electricity with a net zero carbon footprint.
Further electric car reading
The best electric cars and EVs on sale today
How much does it cost to charge an electric car?
Future electric cars: upcoming EVs to look out for
Porsche Taycan revealed: all you need to know