Gear

The Audi e-tron GT has supercar speed with EV ease

Audi’s new flagship tourer is based on the same platform as the Porsche Taycan. What’s remarkable is how different they are
Rating: 9/10 | Price: from £80,850 on Audi
WIRED

The ‘entry’ model is the best; superb ride and handling; a genuine grand tourer

TIRED

Max range could be better; audio EV noise an optional extra; no additional models planned 

It’s a welcome sign of the times that the e-tron GT is Audi’s new flagship car. Not its flagship EV – flagship car. Moreover, the company expects its incoming electric compact SUV, the Q4 e-tron, to be its second-best selling car of all its models in the UK, only beaten by the fossil fuel A3. These are significant shifts for one of the world’s largest car manufacturers. You can almost feel a tipping point has been reached. Audi certainly thinks so.

The e-tron GT is in fact the sister car to Porsche’s Taycan, as both are based on the VW Group J1 platform. They share much of the same drive tech even if they look very different from the outside. The biggest difference from the Taycan is this an electric grand tourer, which means that while a spirited drive is only a blip of the accelerator away, this is for more comfortable cruising.

We’ve driven a number of e-trons, but where before the company reps were eulogising the electric nature of the models, this it’s all about how it drives, looks, performs, and so on. You won’t hear “EV” mentioned in the Tom Hardy-fronted global ad campaign, for example. It could easily be dismissed as a marketing ploy, but Audi seems genuinely excited about the e-tron GT as a car, not because it’s electric. 

The two launch versions are the e-tron GT quattro and the RS e-tron GT. There seems little need for the extreme 590bhp RS version (from £110,950), mind you. A power output identical to the Taycan 4S means the GT quattro shifts from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds – just 0.8 seconds slower than the RS. Top speed is 152mph. Also, both are all-wheel drive, both have the Porsche Taycan’s clever two-speed gearbox for acceleration off the line yet better efficiency at higher speeds, both use the same 93.4kWh battery. 

What’s more, the slightly softer ride on the less full-on 469bhp quattro makes for a preferable drive, especially over long distances. If performance really is a concern, however, both cars have a boost mode, unlocking 523bhp in the quattro and 637bhp in the RS, though this increase only lasts for 2.5 seconds. 

And, speaking of distance, range is one of the few potential downsides of the GT. EV converts now expect more than 300 miles on a single charge, and the GT just about gets there with a claimed WLTP range of 303 miles for the quattro and 293 miles for the RS (stats that are ever so slightly better than its sister Taycan). But drive in anything other than a reserved manner and you will not get near these figures. We didn’t. 

Still, the 800V architecture means DC charging at up to 270kW is possible, which in theory means 62 miles of range in just five minutes, or an 80 per cent top up in less than 23 minutes. Finding a charging point capable of doing this is another matter, of course, and going forward this will be the major barrier to entry for EVs, rather than range anxiety.

The exterior design is stylish, and, despite being remarkably close to the original concept car, it manages that neat trick of conveying inherent performance without having to shout about it. You can see the e-Tron DNA, too, with the GT’s front and rear light clusters displaying the same intricate patterns as Audi’s first EV. 

You have to pay extra for the matrix LED headlights with Audi’s laser light tech, but if you do the system can project arrows on the road in front of you, helping you stay in lane, as well as other info. It is even capable, if you hack it, of projecting movies (in black and white) onto walls. Audi has done this, but sadly an option of creating impromptu drive-in movies won’t be offered. 

Inside the understated theme continues. No multiple touchscreens here, just the one running a sensible if not entirely obvious UI, and thankfully a decent amount of switchgear. We are now beyond the days where thinking that just because everything is capable of being controlled via a screen that it should be. 

Some might argue the interior is not “EV” enough, with no sweeping screen running the entire length of the dash. But this is Audi’s choice again of making this a GT that happens to be electric. But the sooner brands depart from the familiar internal layout, including transmission tunnels where there is no longer any transmission, the better.

Despite looking suitably premium, the wood and leather aren’t actually wood and leather, but vegan-friendly imitations, and the seats are made from reclaimed fibres. And yes, you can get two adults in the back seats comfortably. 

And we should talk about the sound of the e-tron GT. Audi went to great lengths trying to design the audio note of the GT. A bewildering array of sounds were tried out, mixed together and digitally augmented to create something deemed suitable. A didgeridoo was rejected. As was an electric guitar played with a violin bow. In the end, Audi’s sound designer plumped for a sound based on the noise created by a fan blowing air down a long metal pipe. It was a simple setup, but produced an appropriately “electric” and futuristic timbre.

What is frustrating here is that while the car can emit this sound externally and internally to varying degrees, you have to pay extra for the full speaker set-up, which is separate to the music speakers, to hear the full effect. It seems such an ungenerous move, not in keeping with the spirit of the rest of the car. 

By this we mean that despite the supercar pace it’s easy to drive. Prodigious grip, agile handling, precise steering and striking acceleration, all in a car that feel much lighter than its 2.3-tonnes and is comfortable to drive for hours at a time. It’s just as fast in reality as the Taycan Turbo or Tesla Model S. And it might just win in the aesthetic department, too, against its sportier sibling. 

The range will be an issue for some, especially as Tesla is claiming a 500-mile range on the latest Model S. But then you should consider build quality, something few Audi customers complain about. The same cannot be said of Tesla. Also, the entry-level quattro, priced from £80,850, is cheaper than the coming updated Model S.

Perhaps what’s most commendable is that the GT, despite sharing the architecture of the Taycan, is a very different car to the Porsche. And this bodes well for those worried about manufacturers sharing EV platforms. Here you have a true grand tourer built for eating up the miles in serious comfort and style. Audi’s new flagship is an assured success. The company may not want to highlight it’s an EV, but we’d be quite happy if it did.

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This article was originally published by WIRED UK