In Los Angeles, Audi has pulled the covers off what could be their new flagship in the e-tron fully electric range. Called the GT and quite apparently gunning after the Tesla Model S, Audi’s sexy take on zero emissions mobility embedded within a litany of near or fully developed technologies. So much so, in fact, that the Ingolstadt automaker could undertake a full launch within one year.
Of course, the e-tron GT wasn’t created in a vacuum. Sister company Porsche is slated to bring their first EV, the Taycan, to market ahead of an Audi equivalent, and indeed many parallels can be made between the two cars: the feature similar specified electric powertrains, they incorporate nearly identical technologies, they occupy the same dimensional space and are styled quite closely together.
But while the Porsche Taycan could likely beat it to the showroom, Audi’s plan for their e-tron standalone EV range is much more far-reaching. They’ve already laid the groundwork with the e-tron SUV and have indicated that a smaller e-tron Sportback crossover will follow in its footsteps, already taking the supposed arsenal to 3 vehicles by the end of 2020.
The e-tron GT, which resembles the A7 and its coupe-like lift back roofline, measures 4.96m in length, is 1.96m wide, and has a height of 1.38m. Naturally, to increase range, Audi has had to find creative ways to minimise weight in order to offset the very heavy floor-mounted battery array, and therefore the GT utilises a multi-material blend of aluminium, steel, and magnesium while the roof is fashioned from carbon fibre.
Audi’s large single frame grille would only increase wind resistance and be useless as means of cooling a non-existent engine bay, so designers have tried to make the front end as faithful to their corporate face as possible while curving and sloping the overall shape to minimise drag.
Clearly, the company’s performance and motorsport arm, Audi Sport, has had plenty of input to how the GT looks and operates, according to the press material, and here the most apparent representation of this is in the wheels. They are 22-inches in diameter and ride on sticky 285 section ContiSportContact 6 rubber. The five twin spoke design is specific to the car and evokes cues from current RS models and is engineered to maximise brake cooling and reduce drag at high speed.
It’s quite clear the GT has just as much sporting intentions as its adoptive sibling from Porsche should it reach the production floor in a state faithful to this concept. Despite this, spokespeople maintain that the two cars are quite different in character and were jointly engineered to be complementary, instead of adversarial, from the start.
Audi is banking on its 96kWh lithium ion battery and dual synchronous electric motors to provide supercar-like acceleration and speed while being able to maximise range when the need arises. When full power is engaged, the powertrain is capable of generating 434kW of thrust, capable of propelling the car from rest to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds, reaching 200km/h in just over 12 seconds and on to a electronically limited top speed of 240km/h. Should its energy reserves be managed properly, a range of 400km is touted as easily achievable.
It may be remarked upon that the GT’s primary competitor, the Tesla Model S, is capable of quicker acceleration figures, Audi stresses that its cooling system and temperature regulation technology enables the car to engage in as many full bore sprints as the driver wants until a recharge is required - something the Model S just isn’t capable of. And far from being inert on the road, the company says the GT’s dynamics are comparable to the R8 supercar.
Inside, the e-tron GT melds the futuristic with the present-day, and there’s little on display here that would be too far fetched for mass production. Indeed many of the cues and technology pieces have already been implemented in recently launched products from many corners of the Volkswagen Group.
The most interesting nugget from the GT’s cabin is, honestly, the upholstery. Instead of using leather, Alcantara, or some kind of naturally occurring fibre, Audi has fashion a custom weave made from synthesised recycled fibre. So much care has been taken to exclude any animal-based or potentially environmentally harmful materials from being used in the e-tron GT’s interior that they are actually touting it as a ‘vegan interior’. Weird, but more power to them.
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