Published April 26, 2012
By Huw Evans
Like many test mules, the vehicle spotted sports current generation bodywork, likely hiding next generation architecture and engineering.
It’s been seen at a number of auto shows, has been featured in a video highlighting its synthesized e-car sound, and now thanks to some spy photos of it testing at the Nürburgring it appears more certain that Audi’s pure electric e-Tron supercar is well on its way to series production.
Scheduled to be launched some time in late 2014, the e-Tron will share basic design and chassis and suspension components with the next generation Audi R8, which is due around the same time. A Lamborghini derivative of the new R8 is also expected, though it is believed to be unlikely that it will sport an electric version.
Although details on the production e-Tron remain scant, save for the fact that it will sport carbon fiber body panels and an aluminum skeleton, Audi insiders have said that construction techniques will result in a fairly bantam curb weight of approximately 3,500 pounds. Of this, almost half of that – 1,320 pounds – will be taken up by the lithium ion battery pack mounted behind the seats.
That said, the battery reportedly isn’t that much heavier than the 881-pound, 5.2-liter V10 gasoline engine found in the conventional R8 flagship.
Given that the onboard electric motor is said to generate 312 horsepower, performance is believed to be rather brisk, with Audi insiders targeting 0-62 mph acceleration times of approximately 4.8 seconds.
As for the cost of ownership, well obviously, nothing’s set in stone just yet, but AutoExpress says that in the UK at least, the e-Tron will retail somewhere in the £150,000 range (roughly $242,900) when it eventually does go on sale.
Auto Express
