Car UK May 2019

Why wait for an

electric 911?

Insider

Future

scoop

PORSCHE

PLUS EXTRA

PRACTICALITY

Audi’s foreseeable

future does not include

a single sports car

that’s pure Ingolstadt.

Get used to it – the EV

age will see more, not

less, sharing of ideas

and hardware. In any

case, the R8 has always

had a healthy dose

of Lamborghini in its

DNA. In the case of the

e-Tron GTR, the key

donor is Porsche: the

Taycan’s J1 platform will

be tweaked for Audi

dynamics and extra

passenger-friendly

practicality.

STREAMLINED

AUDI LINE-UP

To help make every part

of Audi profitable in the

face of the slim margins

on electric cars, CEO

Bram Schot is in the

midst of a product cull.

Some cars and many

engine variants will

be killed off. On the

provisional casualty

list are the stillborn

five-door A3 sport

coupe, the three-door

A1/S1, the A5 coupe

and convertible, the TT

twins, the R8 and the

proposed A8-based

A9 coupe (concept

pictured below).

‘Audi Sport must

have e-mobility,

and our icons for

the brand must

become electric. We

are in discussions

regarding the sporty

cars and the RS

vehicles – they

will need a change

towards e-mobility.

The e-Tron GT

will come towards

the end of 2020 –

that’s the first step.

Electrically, you can

control things more,

and have more

of an emotional

influence on driving

behaviour.’

Hans-Joachim

Rothenpieler

R&D chief

Illustration: Avarvarii

AUDI’S PATH

TO 650BHP

After this year’s e-Tron

SUV and Sportback,

2020 will bring a

production version of

the e-Tron GT concept

(above). Expect 575bhp

from two electric

motors, with 0-62mph

in 3.5sec. But 2022’s

still-secret GTR is

expected to have more

than 650bhp from a

solid-state battery,

offering a 0-62mph

time closer to two

seconds, wireless

charging and a range

of 300 miles.

Audi’s e-Tron family hits hyperdrive in 2022 with the GTR,

an electric replacement for the R8. By Georg Kacher

Factfile

POWERTRAIN

Three electric motors, 95kWh

solid state battery, 650bhp,

all-wheel drive

CHASSIS

Aluminium monocoque

DUE

2022

PB18 CONCEPT

MADE REAL

Audi’s California design

team under Gael Buzyn

have already designed

a body that could very

plausibly become the

e-Tron GTR: the two-door,

two-seat PB18 shooting

brake-style concept

(above) was one of the

hits of last year’s Pebble

Beach show in the USA.

Expect the aggressive

front end to stay, along

with a layout that puts

EV hardware behind the

driver rather than under

the floor, allowing it to

stay low.

14 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MAY 2019