Audi: This is how the RS e-tron GT drives 🎥

Linda Kurz from Product Marketing presents the highlights of the prototype Audi RS e-tron GT.

An Audi from Porsche? AutoSprintCH got to the bottom of the conjecture. Well, it first happened in 1994 with the Audi RS2 high-performance station wagon. Developed by Porsche on the basis of the Audi 80 Avant, with design features and original components from the Porsche 993.

Now Porsche blood is once again flowing in an Audi - in the first four-door battery-electric Audi sedan, its top version RS e-tron GT, which we drove with development engineers. Still a pre-production version, customer cars will be available from May 2021.

With overboost up to 465 kW (646 hp) output
Porsche is responsible for developing the battery-electric flat-bottom modular system for the VW Group's top brands. Porsche has been using it to build the four-door Taycan coupe since 2019.

Audi adopts it with the large battery for its RS e-tron GT. With 93 kWh (net 84 kWh) capacity, this feeds two synchronous motors that produce 411 kW (598 hp), and even 465 kW (646 hp) in overboost.
While Porsche cultivates the sports car characteristics typical of the brand in the Taycan, Audi sharpens the comfort features of a fast touring sedan.

Operating elements are tailor-made
We get in and look at neoprene trim. The interior layout, which is still subject to secrecy, reminds us of the interior design of the Audi SUV e-tron. We find our way around right away.

The sports seats offer excellent lateral support, and the seat is comparatively low but not hard. All control functions are tailor-made and at your fingertips. There's no need for lengthy searching and orientation. We set off.

Grumbling from the depths of the car body
We read "ready" and dare to sprint under full load. Everyone knows the immediate power development of an electric vehicle. As if you flip a switch, the full power jumps to the axles. In the RS e-tron GT, that's a massive 830 Newton meters.

What they do takes your breath away: as soon as all four wheels mesh with the asphalt, we charge ahead. The rumble emanates from the depths of the bodywork, transmitted to the outside by one loudspeaker at the front and one at the rear.

Up to 100 km/h in three seconds
We struggle against the inertia of our own bodies. The head flies back, the hands clutch the steering wheel, the arm muscles harden and the stomach seems to press against the spine.

In just over three seconds, we leapfrog to 100 km/h, and in another four to 200 km/h. As in the Porsche, 800-volt technology is at work here.

High charging power and short charging times. 270 kW can be drawn from fast charging stations. Audi promises to recharge 100 kilometers of range in five minutes. Full batteries are supposed to last 400 kilometers.

In-house adaptive damper control
We pay tribute to the excellent tuning of the chassis. An in-house adaptive damper control system relies on three-chamber air springs. Even on 22-inch wheels, the system irons out bumps surprisingly smoothly.

With rear-axle steering, speeds are possible in fast corners that put the RS Stromer in a league with conventionally powered RS models.

There's no question about it: The RS e-tron GT is a worthy child of Audi Sport GmbH and clearly sets itself apart from the base model Audi e-tron GT, which will probably produce 390 kW (530 hp).

Aluminum body with carbon parts
Marc Lichte's design team has created a visual masterpiece with the e-tron GT. The 4.99-meter-long, 1.95-meter-wide and only 1.40-meter-high aluminum body with carbon parts covers a wheelbase of 2.89 meters.

The front hood tapers like an arrow. The single-frame grille is inverted. A discreet rear spoiler extends above the continuous strip of lights at 80 km/h. The trunk has a volume of 400 liters. A 400-liter trunk is concealed underneath.

Acceptable range and plenty of driving comfort
The RS e-tron GT is an upper-class EV with acceptable range and high driving comfort. If the impressive sprinting ability isn't enough, there's no need to switch to Porsche. An even more powerful Plus version is likely to be added later - with more than 442 kW. Converted, that's 600 hp.

Only in Switzerland is there the "Pole Position
Audi is launching the "Pole Position" program for Switzerland: Participants receive preferential access to information and test drives with their Audi partner.

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TEXT: Jürgen Zöllter