Acquainted environment don’t match the silent movie taking part in by way of the windscreen of Audi’s RS e-tron GT.
A carbon fibre sprint, flat-bottomed steering wheel, honeycomb quilted sports activities seats and wide-screen digital sprint symbolize house territory for Audi’s quickest vehicles.
As do the unflappable all-wheel-drive traction and ferocious acceleration.
However mountain scenes flashing previous the glass aren’t accompanied by the soundtrack of a howling V10 or thumping V8. As a substitute, there’s a distant hum from the tyres and whisper of wind as we reel within the horizon.
Whereas this Audi RS e-tron GT isn’t the first electric car with a four-ringed emblem, it’s the first to put on the model’s “RS” badge.
Conceding the automobile arrived “a bit later than we wanted to get it”, Audi product planner Peter Strudwicke insists the automobile is well worth the two years Australian clients have waited.
The e-tron definitely doesn’t look dated.
Low and glossy, the four-door coupe may have rolled straight off a motor present stand. And it continues to impress while you drop right into a low-slung cabin.
The suede-trimmed flat-bottomed steering wheel with metallic paddles is a tactile triumph, as is Audi’s choice to place bodily buttons on the wheel and sprint.
Swerving across the over-reliance on touchscreens for fundamental options comparable to air-con, the e-tron is less complicated to reside with than a Tesla Model S or Porsche Taycan.
Audi spokespeople don’t like to speak in regards to the Porsche.
However it’s onerous to keep away from evaluating the e-tron GT with its genre-defining cousin as they’re essentially the identical automobile, constructed on the identical platform, with the identical battery, high-voltage electrical structure and enormously highly effective motors.
Why purchase the Audi?
It represents higher worth, has a guaranty that spans 5 years relatively than Porsche’s three, plus six years of free servicing, roadside help and speedy recharging by way of Chargefox.
The Volkswagen Group rigorously managed house between Audi and Porsche fashions in order that there isn’t a direct conflict. The range-topping Audi prices $248,200 plus on-road prices (about $275,000 drive-away), whereas making as much as 475kW and sprinting to 100km/h in 3.3 seconds.
The equivalent Taycan Turbo prices $280,300 plus on-roads, delivers 500kW and dispatches the pace restrict in 3.2 seconds.
Porsche additionally costs huge cash for stuff like 21-inch wheels ($6770), rear-wheel steering ($4300), a sunroof ($3370), and ventilated seats ($2100) with pink stitching ($7250) that Audi contains as commonplace.
You additionally get unbelievable laser augmented matrix LED headlights, a 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo, and adaptive air suspension.
The quickest Audi makes 440kW and 830Nm more often than not, although you possibly can entry 475kW for 2 seconds when utilizing a particular “boost mode” from a standing begin.
Each vehicles use a two-speed transmission on the rear motor to maximise the ferocity of launches earlier than kicking right into a excessive gear for cruising.
Shift paddles on the Audi modify the quantity of brake regeneration feeding power into the battery while you carry off the throttle.
It seems like a high-performance Audi.
Clients benefit from the synaptic steering response of the Audi R8 supercar, the expertly damped experience of an RS6 wagon on air suspension, and the rear-biased Quattro traction of an RS5 coupe.
Extremely succesful when pushed, the e-tron’s motors can’t match the theatre of a high-performance petrol engine.
It’s like watching an motion film with the sound on mute.
And fans is perhaps caught out by the best way the e-tron shrinks straights within the blink of a watch, earlier than saying the complete impact of its 2.4-tonne mass as you arrive at a decent nook.
Thank goodness for the superior stopping energy of non-compulsory carbon ceramic brakes (yours for $12,500).
The e-tron’s weight drawback stems from a 93.4kWh battery with 83.7kWh of usable storage that interprets to 472km of vary.
Capable of cost from 5 to 80 per cent in 22.5 minutes, the e-tron may be replenished rapidly – so long as you intend journeys round sporadic speedy charging stations that symbolize unfamiliar territory for Audi Sport clients.
VERDICT
Beautiful to behold, sensationally fast and cheaper than the competitors, Audi’s e-tron is spectacular. However it doesn’t redefine electrical efficiency in the identical approach as Porsche’s Taycan.
4 stars
Audi RS e-tron GT
PRICE About $275,000 drive-away
MOTOR Entrance and rear electrical motors, 440kW and 830Nm
WARRANTY/SERVICE 5-yr/u’ltd, free for six yrs
SAFETY 7 airbags, entrance and rear auto emergency braking, lively cruise management, lane maintain help, blind spot monitoring, rear cross site visitors alert
RANGE 472km
SPARE Restore equipment
BOOT 350 litres
Initially revealed as Audi’s RS e-tron GT delivers a shock to the system
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