Audi has launched its latest electric car model – the e-tron GT – and the good news is that it’s not another family SUV.
In fact, Audi’s head designer Marc Lichte has called his latest creation “the most beautiful car I’ve ever drawn” and we can see where he’s coming from.
Built on the same platform as the brilliant Porsche Taycan, it follows that car in providing some welcome style and excitement to the electric car field, and will soon be joined by the Tesla Model S as a direct rival in the premium – and seriously rapid – electric car stakes.
There will be two versions available in the spring, the e-tron GT Quattro and the flagship RS e-tron GT, which inevitably produces some fairly extreme numbers: 590bhp and a 0-62mph time of 3.3 seconds for starters.
There’s even a boost mode, which extends that power to 637bhp using launch control, in case you find yourself in a high-speed pursuit, perhaps, and are having trouble shaking your tail.
It’s all powered by an 800-volt, 93kWh battery which offers a range of 280 miles.
As seems to be the trend for electric cars, there’s also the option of a fake engine sound, both inside and outside the car.
It you think that piped soundtrack sounds like a terrible idea, it worked far better than expected on the Taycan and at the very least such effects lessen the weirdness of driving fast in silence.
The honeycomb grille is a clear differential from the rest of the Audi range. Without the need for air cooling, its purpose here is as a home for a variety of for the car’s assist systems.
Inside, the cabin is less overtly ‘futuristic’ than the rest of the Audi range which makes a nice change from other EVs. Sustainable materials are on offer throughout, from man-made leather seats through to carpets made from fishing nets. In fact, Audi is claiming the e-tron GT’s entire production at its Böllinger Höfe facility is completely carbon neutral.
It’s the same production line as Audi’s flagship petrol sports car the R8 and there have been no denials that it could also open the door for an electric version of the R8 in the future.
Typical electric car gizmos abound, including an optional – and perhaps unnecessary – “deluxe thermal conditioning system”, which allows you to operate the heated mirrors and windows from your smartphone.
Overall, it promises to add real presence and pep to an electric scene which has so far been dominated by practicality more than desirability.
Audi is calling it “the gran turismo of the future” and it comes with a futuristic price tag to match – an estimated £120,000 for the RS model when it arrives in the UK imminently.
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