Audi RS e-tron GT the 'ultimate grand tourer'

Audi Sport has released fresh details on the all-new Audi RS e-tron GT and revealed that the first-ever pure-electric RS model was designed to blend supercar levels of acceleration with everyday comfort.

You can read our first drive of a near-production prototype of the all-new Audi RS e-tron GT this week, ahead of its unveiling early next year.

But in an exclusive presentation to Australian journalists, the chief engineer of the RS e-tron GT, Dennis Schmitz, explained how the biggest challenge for Audi was finding the right balance between offering outstanding performance an RS needs with everyday useability – without obliterating the distance it can travel between top-ups.

Of course, it helped hugely that the RS e-tron sits on the same dedicated J1 pure-electric platform as the Porsche Taycan and uses almost all of its hardware beneath the skin, including its 93kWh lithium-ion battery.

To prevent the electric Audi RS treading on the Taycan’s toes, the fastest e-tron GT gets a 335kW rear electric motor and a 175kW motor to drive the front axle.

Combined, they pump out a mighty 475kW, making it the most powerful Audi RS model ever.

While that all sounds hugely impressive, the Porsche Taycan Turbo pips it with 500kW and the faster-still Taycan Turbo S version generates a whopping 560kW.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Audi RS e-tron GT isn’t quite as quick as the Taycan Turbo, but a 0-100km/h dash of “less than 3.5 seconds” using launch control is still outstanding for a heavyweight 2300kg four-door sedan, and only 0.3sec off the Taycan Turbo.

Top speed, meanwhile, is limited to 250km/h – 10km/h off the Taycan Turbo twins.

Distancing the RS e-tron further from Taycan is Schmitz’s insistence that at no point were Audi Sport engineers prepared to jeopardise the fast pure-electric Audi’s GT credentials and that means not taking their collective eyes off making it comfortable.

Again, aiding Audi Sport was Porsche’s no-expenses-spared approach to developing the Taycan.

The RS e-tron GT gets expensive double wishbone front suspension and a complex multilink rear axle that uses three-chamber air suspension that can not only vary its spring rate but also how high it rides.

In the Porsche, the system automatically lowers by 22mm in Sport Plus mode to reduce roll for ultimate agility, while at speed boosting aero efficiency.

More goodies for Audi Sport to play with was active ride control that reduces body lean while cornering, torque vectoring on the rear axle and a rear-steer system that can boost agility and stability.

Finally, like the standard e-tron GT, the flagship Audi RS has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution, providing Audi Sport with the perfect building blocks for it to work with.

From then on, the devil was in the detailed calibration implemented by engineers to give the RS e-tron GT its own character.

The result, Schnitz says is a “super-sporty car, but also a car you can use for long distance travelling”.

Like the Porsche, there’s three brake options on the Audi RS e-tron GT– the standard iron discs, bigger high-performance coated discs that are less prone to wear, and the most powerful carbon-ceramic brake package that features huge 10-piston monobloc fixed callipers that are claimed to be perfectly suited for track day use or for those autobahn users who spend their days flat out.

Despite being developed in the shadow of the Taycan, Audi Sport did get away with a couple of performance-enhancing features not offered by Porsche.

The first is an ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre roof option that not only saves some kilos, but nicely lowers the centre of gravity.

The next is that while on the Taycan there’s the choice of either 20- or 21-inch rims, Audi Sport will offer aero-tuned 21-inch alloy wheels that should boost range and a set of super-light 19-inch wheels that shave kilos off each corner and should help handling further.

The flagship RS also gets a completely flat floor and trick active aero that optimises either cooling, efficiency or downforce when you’re on track or hammering along your favourite country road.

Mirroring the Taycan, the Audi e-tron range has an 800-volt charging system that allows it to be topped up using a 270kW DC fast charger. There’s no word on the actual range, but expect the RS to cover around 450km on a full charge.

Cleverly, if you use the Audi’s sat-nav on your journey and indicate where on your route you’ll charge your car, the e-tron GT RS will either cool or pre-warm the batteries for optimum charging temperature, cutting time spent topping up.

Alas, during our presentation Audi Sport didn’t show us a completely undisguised car, but thanks to its sparing use of camo it’s hard not to be in awe of its visual muscle.

Same goes for the cabin, so we can’t vouch for the German car-maker’s next-gen cabin design, but after our virtual introduction to Audi’s first stab at a pure-electric RS, it’s hard not to be impressed.

Created to be the “ultimate GT”, Schmitz says when the RS e-tron GT is finally launched around the third quarter of 2021 in Australia he’s confident it will “not only raise the bar for electric cars, but the RS brand too”.

Related: Read our 2021 Audi RS e-tron prototype review