AUDI E-TRON GT · PORSCHE 911 GT3 · BIG QUESTION
Audi’s e-tron GT has arrived with up to 637bhp in full-fat RS trim... and it’s built from the same stuff as the Porsche Taycan. Decision, decisions
Audi reveals its version of the Taycan, we get a first glimpse of the new 911 GT3, plus do big batteries make hydrogen fuel cells pointless?
APorsche Taycan too sporty for you? An RS7 too petrol-y? Well, the new Audi e-tron GT is right up your street. This isn’t the first pure-electric Audi of course, that title goes to its ever-growing line-up of e-tron SUVs, but the first based on the J1 platform shared with TopGear’s 2019 Car of the Year, the Taycan.
Let’s get the salient numbers out the way first. There will be two flavours of e-tron GT initially – e-tron GT quattro and RS e-tron GT. That’s right, this is also the first electric Audi to wear the RS badge. No pressure. Both have a motor at either end for fourwheel drive, both have the same two-speed gearbox as the Taycan on the rear axle to elevate efficiency at higher speeds and both feature only a 93kWh battery as standard.
The ‘quattro’ produces 469bhp, or 523bhp for a 2.5 second boost when you deploy launch control – enough for 0–62mph in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 152mph. Too slow? The RS gets 590bhp or 637bhp on overboost, making it the most powerful RS model to date, capable of 0–62mph in 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 155mph.
Resist the urge to boot it, and Audi says the UK models’ WLTP range will be around 295 miles for the quattro and 280 miles for the RS. An 800V architecture means DC charging up to 270kW is possible, if you can find a point capable of it. At peak speeds that’s 62 miles of range in five mins.
You’re probably starting to get the idea, the Audi is being pitched as more of a rapid GT than a four-door sports car like the Taycan. Fast, but not as fast as the Porsche. That theory plays out when you get the measuring tape out. The Audi is a fraction longer, a little narrower and a few cm taller than the Taycan, there’s a bit of extra boot space too – 405 litres in the back, another 81 in the nose.
Underneath there’s aluminium double wishbone suspension, an electronically controlled rear diff and adaptive air suspension as standard on the RS, four-wheel steering and an “e-tron sport sound” as options on both models, while the centre of gravity – thanks to all those lithiumion cells – is lower than the R8.
Then we get to the design. I’m a fan. Pro tip: try Tactical Green on the configurator, only for the brave. Wheels range from 19- to 21-inch, the larger rims with aero blades, matrix LED headlights are standard on the RS, with the sinister-sounding laser lights on the options list, doubling your high-beam reach.
Note the grille – less cooling requirements means no need for Audi’s usual gaping single frame number, hence the block of body-coloured trim under the badge. The sinewy creases above the arches are a highlight, so too the full-width rear light – just below the pop-up rear spoiler. Carbon wing mirrors and a full carbon roof are available on request, says Audi.
On the inside, rear passengers are treated to the same “foot garage” as the Taycan, a dimple designed into the skateboard battery to give your feet somewhere to go. Up front the dash is subtly tipped towards the driver, presenting them with a 10.1in touch display to go with the 12.3in ‘virtual cockpit’ screen. Sound insulating glass in the windscreen is standard, and can be fitted to all windows.
Despite sharing its bones and gizzards with the Taycan, both cars won’t be built in the same place. The e-tron GT will be assembled alongside the R8 at Audi’s Neckarsulm factory, which puts a bit of a cap on the number it can build. Audi reckons “something in the high four figures” a year – so a 10,000-unit ceiling – compared with the 20,000-odd Taycans Porsche flogged in 2020. And that number’s expected to grow substantially in 2021. So, modest ambitions from Audi to begin with, but then this is a £79,900 (quattro)/£110,950 (RS) car.