Audi R8 E-Tron

Design

The idea behind the E-Tron R8 was not to change the look and feel of the vehicle, but how it performed. That being said, Audi has done very little in the way of exterior or interior changes to the car except for the wild paint job shown on the car at Le Mans. All of the right supercar parts are still apparent and it looks like the E-Tron means business on the track. Out front the large grill and air intakes on the front bumper will still help to cool the brakes. Signature Audi LED daytime-running lights flow beautifully around the teardrop headlights. This form of lighting has made its way from humble beginnings into nearly every manufacturers tool bag, but Audi still does it best. As your eyes move towards the rear of the car it is hard to miss the large air intakes behind the doors that were mainly for cooling a very hot engine. The engine is missing, but the batteries produce plenty of heat on their own. Nothing in the rear has really changed except for the delete on the exhaust exits.

Performance

The R8 E-tron is powered by four motors – two on the front and two in the rear axles that each connect to their respective wheel by the use of a small shaft. By using the four motor setup this R8 delivers 313 hp and 4,500 Nm (3,319 lb-ft) of torque. It is capable of accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds. The true four-wheel drive system allows the Audi to become a full fledged Quattro car. The system is capable of delivering balanced power to the front and rear wheels, but prefers to give 70% to the rear and 30% to the front wheels when conditions are right. By having four completely separate motors the onboard computer is also able to make the smallest adjustments to power outputs so that understeer and oversteer can be corrected.

Even though the batteries weigh 1,212.54 lbs, this new Audi is able to come up with a final curb weight of 3,527.40 lb. This is thanks in large part to the aluminum body and Audi space frame technology. The special package of the Audi E-Tron technology platform provides a 42:58 weight distribution between the front and rear axles and therefore ensures perfect balance and driving dynamics. There is a triangular double wishbone suspension positioned in the front while the back gets a trapezoidal-link rear suspension. This is balanced on 19″ wheels.

A cable and plug allow the Audi R8 E-Tron’s energy storage to be powered by your household current of 230 volts/16 amperes. Charging time is about 6-8 hours when the battery has been completely depleted and goes down to about 2.5 hours when high voltage is used. During braking the car is able to convert the energy provided into a useful source for the electronic systems helping to extend the range.

Pricing and Availability

Audi has announced the R8 E-Tron will be brought to the United States market in 2013 and should be releasing more details and pricing in the coming months.

Competition

Several manufacturers have been toying around with the notion of a high-end sports car powered solely by electric batteries, but few have made a commitment to act. Audi will most likely introduce the first mainstream product in this category with the likes of Mercedes in its rearview mirror. The Mercedes E-cell SLS is as far along in the development stage as Audi, but Mercedes is reluctant to make the car available to the consumer. On the smaller end of the spectrum Fisker and Tesla have been developing this technology for years and are finally getting production models on the road. The larger Fisker Karma which will be introduced this year is poised to take over the luxury electric car segment, but will not invade the Audi E-Tron market too much.