Audi R8 e-tron 2013 Review - International

Audi R8 e-tron coupe

What we liked:?
>> Instant power delivery
?>> Immense torque reserves?
>> No loss of mid-engined R8 balance

Not so much:?
>> Audi won’t sell it
?>> Hefty price premium if it did?
>> Lacks aural excitement?

We’re in one of the many expansive hangars within the now-defunct Berlin-Tempelhof airport terminal, which at a mile long remains one of the world’s largest and most awe-inspiring buildings.

Today one of Europe’s three iconic pre-WWII airports is the venue for us to sample Audi’s all-electric R8 e-tron supercar, as part of the German brand’s second ‘future lab’ technology workshop.

Sitting inside one of just 10 hand-built production-ready prototypes, which share just nine of their 6000 components with the R8 showroom model, there are only a few telltale giveaways that this is no normal R8.

First there’s a small rectangular video screen that replaces the rear-view mirror and displays a crystal-clear view of what’s behind since a solid carbon-fibre panel replaces the standard R8’s heavy rear window.

Replacing the tacho is an ‘e-meter’ showing how much charge the regenerative braking system is feeding into the massive 577kg T-shaped lithium-ion battery, and how much of the twin rear-mounted electric motors’ power reserves are being called upon at any given time.

Finger the push-button starter and only a distant electronic thrumming sound and a subtle ‘ready’ light signal the car’s ready for action. I select Drive via the standard automatic gearshifter and the e-tron skulks almost silently out of the hangar as I gently squeeze the throttle pedal.

After waiting my turn for about a dozen laps of a tight, artificial circuit marked out on the coarse concrete surface that once formed an airport taxiway for thousands of civilian and military aircraft for almost 70 years, I floor the throttle and the high-tech, ultra-rare R8 launches with all the ferociousness of the V8 and V10 production versions, throwing me back in to the cosseting bucket seats.

Keeping my right foot buried, the e-tron builds speed with unexpectedly brutal force and, just as I notice the subtle, artificially generated ‘engine’ noise the first bend comes up. The e-R8 brakes with unflappable stability and strength, and a quick flick of the flat-bottomed steering wheel has it turning into the tight left-hander more willingly than I expect.

Subsequent changes of direction make Audi’s electromobility showpiece feel slightly heavier than any R8 I’ve driven (at 1780kg, the EV is 50kg heavier than the V8 model), but the 58 per cent rear weight bias means there’s no more front-end understeer than in the standard car.

I push a little harder and can feel the rear tyres working as the Siamesed rear electric motors deliver drive to each rear wheel independently, before the stability control system kicks in just as the fun begins.

An Audi technician peers in the window as I stop before my next lap and tells me I’m in Efficiency mode, which offers maximum rear torque vectoring, so I switch to Dynamic (there’s an Auto mode in between) and switch off the ESC.

Apart from applying more aggressive steering and throttle pedal performance, this makes the rear-end feel more like a limited-slip diff and allows the car to generate a higher level of power oversteer, but the system still intervenes.

Audi said it disabled the ESC Off mode for our test “because there’s only 10 cars”, but Sport mode allows enough sideways attitude to tell the e-tron is as well-balanced and progressive at the limit as the mid-engined showroom model upon which it’s based.

I expected the lack of engine noise and a hefty 820Nm of torque from zero revs to make the electric R8 harder to drive quickly with confidence, but the direct connection between even subtle throttle inputs and response at the rear wheels made modulating all that performance easy and I felt instantly at home.

After another half-dozen quick laps I finish with a slow one and notice just how refined and seamless the power delivery is from any speed. Playing with the steering wheel shift paddles, I discover that pulling the left one applies more ‘engine’ braking force and therefore greater brake energy recuperation (and vice-versa for the right paddle) rendering braking redundant in most situations.

It’s also apparent from the impeccable fit and finish – not to mention Audi’s typically top-notch design and build quality – that this is a highly refined vehicle at the end of its development cycle.

Jumping out at the end of my session, I join the group watching on as other journos take turns at hammering this exotic, production-ready super-EV as hard as they can, producing plenty of brake and tyre odour but no engine noise or exhaust fumes in a surreal display of modern motoring.

The look of pride on the faces of the many technicians that worked on the R8 e-tron project is as obvious as their disappointment when talk turns to why Audi cancelled the project. But I get the impression R&D chief Wolfgang Durheimer has set them an even greater challenge in an R8 plug-in hybrid, which should be even better in every way.