Electric made fun
It is fair to say that the age of electric cars is fully underway. Every car manufacturer uses some type of electrification in their cars. The big sports car manufacturers like Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Lamborghini are shying away from full electrification but everyone else is on the same hype train of EVs. Sadly, most new electric vehicles are crossovers and SUVs. Those are not aerodynamic, weigh a lot and the handling is compromised. The topic of this blog will be the all-new Audi e-tron GT. Audi has three electric cars on sale today: the Q4 e-tron, e-tron SUV and now the much-anticipated e-tron GT. In contrast to the other two, the e-tron GT is not a crossover, it's a sleek four-door sedan. We had the chance to take it on a road trip across Switzerland so that the "GT" aspect of the badge could be tested.
The standard Audi e-tron GT is equipped with QUATTRO AWD and dual electric motors that produce a total of 530 horsepower during launch control. In normal driving, the car produces around 480 horsepower. This power is enough to launch the car to 100 km/h in around 4 seconds. With this impressive performance comes a useable battery capacity of 85 kWh, enough for an average range of 450km. Maximum charging rates go up to 265 kW.
With the battery stuff out of the way, what does the e-tron GT feel like on the inside? First of all, the interior is gorgeous, as with all new Audi models. A large panoramic roof lights up the cabin which is otherwise very dark. There aren't any large parts of the interior that have any color or accents. The only place where there is a red accent is on the Start/Stop button. Speaking of red; the exterior. Our car was specced in tango red metallic, a stunning almost Ferrari red paint scheme that stands out. The e-tron GT is not a very flashy car in basic colors such as black or grey, but in red the car showed presence on the road. Overall, the exterior details and design are spot on. We reckon that the e-tron GT looks better than its german twin, the Porsche Taycan, but that is our opinion. It just looks more futuristic and outlandish. On the normal GT, the grille is a light gray and meanwhile, on the RS everything is blacked out. The looks aren't controversial but they can be something to get used to, especially in the front. In the rear, an entire lightbar spans from each back corner of the car. You also get a functional diffuser and rear spoiler. The design is mainly aimed toward efficiency than at downforce or crazy styling queues. Every body panel is functional to give the car the optimal range, while also looking good. Sedans are the best type of body style to be in EV form. They can be low, wide, and look stunning in the process. Audi uses these features and the weight of the battery to build a car that is made for cruising but also the occasional spin up a mountain pass. The large battery runs along the floor of the car to disguise it's enormous weight and give the car a low center of gravity. There is no seeing past that this car is heavy, but the e-tron S SUV weighs almost 400kg more! The clever weight distribution makes the e-tron GT stable and a fun car to drive dynamically. It might not be as hunkered down and focussed as its Taycan sibling, but Audi wants the GT to be a.., GT! The suspension is softer and the whole car is geared more toward long-distance driving. What the e-tron GT and Taycan share is its savage acceleration. Even if this is the "base model" it still gives you that gut-wrenching rollercoaster experience. Cannot imagine what the full beans in the RS feel like. With all this goofing around, we received an average consumption of around 21kWh/100km.
We know that the future will be electric in some way. Either plugging the car in or putting hydrogen in a tank, we will have to say goodbye to internal combustion engines. Luckily, companies like Audi are embracing the electric part of the future and turning it into something exciting to look forward to.
