We drove the Audi RS e-tron GT for an hour; here’s what we learned

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  The Audi RS e-tron GT (right) and the Audi e-tron GT (left). [credit: Jonathan Gitlin ]

In February, Audi took the wraps off its next electric vehicle. It’s called the e-tron GT, and unlike the rest of Audi’s EV offerings, this one isn’t an SUV or crossover. It’s a four-door sports car that shares a platform with the very impressive Porsche Taycan. We’re expecting a proper drive later this summer once the e-tron GT is on sale, but on Tuesday Audi let Ars spend an hour behind the wheel of a preproduction version on the roads of northern Virginia.

The car is available in two flavors; the $99,900 e-tron GT or the $139,900 RS e-tron GT, and it’s the latter that we got to drive. It’s a twin-motor design, combining a 235 hp (175 kW) motor at the front axle and a 450 hp (335 kW) motor at the rear, with a combined output of 590 hp (440 kW) and 612 lb-ft (830Nm). The motors are fed by a 93.4 kWh battery pack (~85 kWh usable capacity). The battery’s 800 V electrical architecture allows it to fast charge at up to 270 kW—which means going from 5 to 80 percent in 22.5 minutes—and it can regenerate up to 265 kW of energy under braking.

The Audi might be a little cheaper and a little less powerful than the Taycan, but, if anything, it’s a better-looking car, even in relatively anonymous metallic gray paint. Its cabin is more conventional than the Porsche, with just two screens—one for the main instrument display and one for the infotainment system—and plenty of physical buttons for things like the climate controls. (The audio controls on the center console are like the touch-sensitive dial on the front of an iPod, which is neat.)