Audi e-tron GT coming our way as sleek tech-fest EV flagship
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Audi e-tron GT coming our way as sleek tech-fest EV flagship

By GoAuto - 28 March 2022

BY: TONY O’KANE

The world of battery-electrics will get a sizable injection of sex appeal in September when Audi’s pure EV flagship, the e-tron GT, lands on Australian soil.

Accompanied by the performance-oriented RS e-tron GT (think of it as the RS6 to the ‘regular’ e-tron GT’s A6), the e-tron GT provides Audi with an analogue to Porsche’s Taycan family – which should be no great surprise given both are built on the same ‘J1’ all-electric architecture. It also lands as a companion to the e-tron and e-tron Sportback SUVs that arrived in 2020, the first of Audi’s new combustion-free vehicles.

However, while the e-tron and e-tron Sportback are built around an upright and pragmatic SUV form factor, the e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT go the other direction. With a low roof, long bonnet and pronounced haunches, the e-tron GT looks stylish and athletic – even more so in RS flavour, thanks to 21-inch alloys and mirror-like tungsten carbide brake discs with red brake calipers. Two of the brighter hues, Ascari Blue and Tactical Green, are also exclusive to the RS model.

The Audi e-tron GT shares its underpinnings with the Porsche Taycan.

With a footprint measuring five metres long and 2.16 metres wide, the e-tron GT has considerable physical presence and eclipses the slightly smaller Porsche Taycan, even though the two cars share a 2.9-metre wheelbase. Even Audi’s imposing RS7 is about 10cm narrower than the RS e-tron GT, and only 2cm longer.

Physically, then, the e-tron GT has the right look to sit at the top of the Audi tree – and at $249,700 for the RS e-tron GT ($181,700 for the ‘base’ e-tron GT), that’s resolutely where Audi’s battery-powered flagship sits now that the R8 is out the door. But what of performance?

Unlike Porsche’s Taycan, Audi has chosen to bypass lower-output models for its electric hero. In the e-tron GT, there’s a combined 350kW of power (390kW in boost mode) and 630Nm of torque from the two electric motors – one driving the front wheels, and the other driving the rears. Those numbers translate into a zero-to-hundred time of just 4.1 seconds – just a tenth behind the Porsche Taycan 4S that uses the same powertrain.

AWD grip and an effortless 475kW/830Nm are available in RS e-tron GT variants
Opening the wallet a little wider will net even more performance, however, with the RS e-tron GT featuring higher-output motors than deliver 440kW (475kW in boost) and 830Nm, gifting it an ultra-brisk 0-100km/h sprint stat of 3.3 seconds. Again, it sits just a tenth of a second behind its equivalent Porsche cousin, the Taycan Turbo, which also happens to cost just under $50,000 more than the Audi.

The RS treatment extends beyond dragstrip credentials, too. All-wheel steering helps tighten up the RS’ turning circle while also conferring greater high-speed stability, and a performance braking system featuring ultra-durable tungsten-carbide coated rotors adds the deceleration needed to contain the RS model’s prodigious rate of acceleration.

Top speed for both models is capped at 250km/h, with a two-speed gearbox on the rear motor enabling it to maintain stellar acceleration at higher speeds – something EVs typically don’t excel at.

The 0-100km/h dash is dispatched in just 3.3 seconds!

Other RS-specific goodies include a heated and flat-bottomed steering wheel (with shift paddles for controlling regenerative braking strength), ventilated RS sports seats at the front, carbon-fibre cabin inlays, and a choice of six high-grade Nappa leather upholstery options, with a honeycomb stitching pattern.

Not that the regular e-tron GT will be wanting for equipment. Standard fit-out on the GT includes powered and heated front seats and a power-adjustable steering column, a head-up display for the driver, Audi’s all-electronic ‘virtual cockpit’ instrument panel, LED headlamps, laser high-beam, leather upholstery with either graphite grey or walnut grey/brown inlays, and tri-zone climate control.

Other tech goodies include Audi Connect plus, wireless smartphone tethering and charging, 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio, adaptive cruise control, 20-inch alloys, a 360-degree parking camera and a panoramic glass sunroof as standard.

The cabin of the e-tron GT is pure Audi premiumness throughout

While electric vehicle platforms typically situate the battery under the floor, thus bumping up seating positions (a big reason why many manufacturers are prioritising SUVs for their first EVs), the e-tron GT shapes the battery around the footwells to ensure a more natural seating position by putting legs and feet as low as possible. Accordingly, rear seat headroom isn’t as confined as the e-tron GT’s slicked-back roofline might make you think.

Also, while the Porsche Taycan’s default configuration is as a four-seater, the e-tron GT will ship in 4+1 layout as standard, with an occasional-use centre seat on the rear bench. On the Taycan, that layout is a $1000 cost option.

Both the e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT ride sit on air suspension as standard which lowers the car to a catseye-kissing ride height when travelling at speed in Efficiency mode to help reduce aerodynamic drag, while also firming up in Dynamic mode to maintain body control. Despite the considerable difference in performance, both models utilise the same 93kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Maximum range comes in at 487km for the regular GT, while the RS achieves a little less range at 472km thanks to extra weight from its rear-wheel steering, additional specification, and its 21-inch wheel and tyre package.

The e-tron GT offers an all-electric driving range of up to 472km. Not bad!

On the standard 11kW wall charger (which Audi provides with every car and is installed for free courtesy of a partnership with JETcharge), a full charge can be achieved overnight. Thanks to an 800V electrical architecture, the e-tron GT can also be charged from five percent all the way up to 80 percent in 22 and a half minutes on a 270kW fast charger (or about 100km of range per five minutes of charging).

As an additional deal-sweetener, Audi Australia is also offering six years of free public charging on the Chargefox network, along with complimentary scheduled servicing and roadside assist for the same period.

The Audi e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT are slated to begin local deliveries in September 2022, and while Audi Australia is staying mum on sales expectations, with swelling demand for electric vehicles – especially those in the premium realm – and Porsche’s sales ledger recording over 530 Taycan deliveries last year, Audi’s tech-laden electric flagship could enjoy a great deal of popularity among Australia’s elite.

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