Audi e-tron GT RS confirmed

The forthcoming Audi e-tron GT will be the company’s first electrified model to include a higher-performance RS variant.

And it could have also been the first Audi to feature a didgeridoo as part of its soundtrack.

The much-anticipated RS version of the battery-electric Audi e-tron GT was officially confirmed by Audi’s global boss Markus Duesmann as he introduced a virtual media briefing on the four-door coupe’s build process and digitised sound package.

“With the e-tron GT we are adding a new chapter to our story,” he said. “We are taking sporting flair to a new dimension.

“Strong performance and high efficiency are the hallmarks of the e-tron GT. The all-electric quattro all-wheel drive offers the perfect combination of driving dynamics and safety.

“The e-tron GT is a standalone Gran Turismo and true Audi, characterised first of all by its design. It is our first EV with a flat-floor architecture. This set-up provides a low centre of gravity, an athletic look and a dynamic driving performance.

“We are taking things another step further; I am pleased to announce today that there will be also an RS version of the e-tron GT, which will be launched together with the e-tron GT.”

The Audi e-tron GT and GT RS will be launched globally before the end of 2020. In Australia both models are expected to appear together before the end of 2021.

That timing is a win for Audi and its high-performance division Audi Sport over arch-rivals BMW M and Mercedes-AMG, neither of which have a fully-electric vehicle on sale yet. M launches its first in 2021, as could AMG.

While Audi has dabbled in high-performance electrification with the ultra-limited-edition R8 e-tron and some concepts, this is the first time Audi Sport has applied the RS badge to a pure-electric production model.

Audi Sport has confirmed it will also soon offer RS plug-in hybrid models, too.

Pricing is as yet unstated for the Audi e-tron GT in Australia, but it is reasonable to expect it won’t be cheap. The current Audi Sport high-water mark is the $416,500 Audi R8 V10 Spyder.

Duesmann released no technical or performance information about the Audi e-tron GT RS, but previous reports have speculated it will be the fastest Audi ever made with around 600kW of power and a 0-100km/h time under 2.8 seconds.

Based on the same J1 architecture as the Porsche Taycan EV, the Audi e-tron GT first appeared as a concept at the 2018 Los Angeles show powered by two e-motors boasting 434kW.

However, this week’s presentation shied away from such juicy e-tron GT details; instead, the story of how it could have sounded like a didgeridoo was revealed.

The e-tron GT comes with a statutory warning sound required at low speed for safety reasons, but Audi engineers have also created an optional ‘e-sound’ pack.

“To find the basis for the sound of the e-tron GT, I tried all sorts of instruments – from the violin to the electric guitar all the way to the didgeridoo, a wind instrument from Australia,” explained Audi sound designer Rudolf Halbmeir.

“Then I came across a piece of plastic pipe lying in the garden, it was three metres long and had a cross-section of 80mm. I attached a fan at one end and listened to the sound coming out the other end. It was a very specific, deep growl – and I knew straight away that I had discovered the foundation of the sound.”

But there are other sounds mixed in, like the drone of a model helicopter and whine of a cordless screwdriver.

The final sound product is continuously recreated as an algorithm that mixes and prioritises the individual sounds differently based on data about the rotational speed of the electric motors, the load, the vehicle speed, and other parameters supplied by the drive management.

When the car is driven slowly, the e-sound is discreet, becoming more obvious as speed increases. Although synthesised, Audi says it creates an “authentic and finely nuanced impression” of the work performed by the drive system.

“We deliberately avoided imitating an internal combustion engine or a spaceship from a science fiction movie,” explains Halbmeir. “Instead, we developed a sporty, expansive and sophisticated sound that also comes across as clear and distinctive. It combines familiar sound patterns with new, futuristic elements.”

Audi also discussed how the e-tron GT is built in an arrangement unique within the Volkswagen Group alongside the mid-engined Audi R8 at the Böllinger Höfe small-series assembly plant in Neckarsulm, Germany.

While the two vehicles are technically unrelated, the presenters did confirm the R8 and GT will be the two most powerful cars it builds.

The factory has been upgraded to fit the GT. Sharing the line between two completely different vehicles means there are now 36 rather than 16 production cycles.

Production of the e-tron GT was designed without physical prototypes – a first at Audi. While the assembly process is highly automated, it still includes a significant amount of hand-building. All up, each example takes two-and-a-half days to complete, including a 40km test drive.

Procedures Audi is claiming as innovations include a body shop comprising 10 stations and 34 robots that each e-tron GT body – made from an ultra-high-strength steel and aluminium mix – passes along twice. This allows production within the existing floor space.

Audi says the design of the Audi e-tron GT places unusually high demands on production quality, citing the large 35cm sidewall frame draw depth between its highest and lowest point as an example. This has prompted a new in-line correlation-free measuring procedure.