Audi RS e-tron GT

The corruptive influence of a potent electric powertrain

SO THE RS E-TRON GT HAS JUST ABOUT ruined speed for me. Now, this is no fault of Audi’s – the people of the internet love a fast EV, so why would Audi disappoint them? – but with the e-tron acting as a baseline for me between driving other test cars, it’s making everything else feel just a bit, erm, slow…

The last few months have had big hitters on the menu, too, yet both the awesome 760bhp Mustang Shelby GT500 (see evo 292) and the simply mega 631bhp Lamborghini Huracán STO (issue 290) felt not particularly accelerative compared to the Audi. Which I’m well aware is ridiculous, because as the numbers on their dial packs and the wooshie scenery around me suggested, these internal-combustion cars are wickedly fast, yet the 637bhp e-tron’s almost nauseating punch feels so much more extreme.

And it’s accessible at any time, in any weather and without any drama. As with all EVS, this feeling isn’t just extrapolated by the lack of noise, but defined by it, giving you no audible cue to the forces your body is about to experience.

Compared with other cars on the Fast Fleet that I often swap between, the boss’s 542bhp DBX feels sluggish (sorry), Aston Parrott’s Octavia VRS barely appears to be moving, and even Adam Towler’s new M3 can feel a tad undernourished. And so while I think the RS’S value proposition can feel a tad thin in some areas, access to so much instantaneous power and torque is certainly a luxury that feels worth the price tag – even if it’s one I’m becoming a little too accustomed to.

Date acquired June 2020 Total mileage 8485 Mileage this month 801 Costs this month £0 mi/kwh this month 2.8