FUTURE SHOCK

POTENT ELECTRIC AUDI CHARTS THE ROUTE AHEAD FOR QUATTRO’S NEXT 40 YEARS

- BEN BARRY

THE AUDI RS e-Tron GT might be derived from the same building blocks as the Porsche Taycan, but there’s no doubting this car’s significance. It’s the first Audi RS model to go fully electric, skipping the plug-in hybrid stage altogether and beating rivals BMW M and Mercedes-AMG to market with emissions-free motoring in this segment.

Is that a good thing? To find out, we’re driving the RS e-Tron GT in pre-production prototype form – hence the body camouflage, but this car is said to be 98 per cent representative of the incoming production car.

So it’s a Taycan underneath, we hear you ask? Basically yes. The RS e-Tron GT is based on the same J1 platform as the Porsche Taycan and not the modified MLB chassis under the e-tron SUV and Sportback.

It has the same 800v cabling that’s lighter and fastercharging and uses a battery with a net capacity of 83.7kWh (93kWh gross). There are two permanent magnet synchronous e-motors – a 175kW motor powers the front axle and is shared with the regular e-Tron GT, but the rear is larger and more powerful, at 335kW.

You don’t get three motors here, as you do on the e-Tron S SUV, but the RS e-Tron GT does get an electronically controlled rear limited-slip differential. The electric (natch) steering has a fixed ratio, but rear-wheel steering increases agility at lower speeds.