Photo: CarPix
The best auto journalists know how to put a positive spin on bad news and keep everybody happy. Here's my attempt: the Audi R8 e-tron looks really cool in this shade of dark blue.
Despite being shown at the same time as the regular R8, the one powered by a V10 engine, this Philips razor of the sportscar world isn't quite ready for mass consumption. A test engineer was recently seen testing the e-tron on the Nurburgring track.
A few details have changed since the last time we saw the car, leading us to believe that Audi presented a pre-production prototype in Geneva. For example, the headlights aren't tinted, and the vertical element of the air vents for the brakes are slightly different. On the R8 shown in Geneva, the front grille was made of naked carbon fiber, but not here.
You may also notice that the blades on the sides now glow bright orange and the wheels no longer have an aero cover to reduce drag.
In 2013, Audi made the first R8 e-tron and said they were going to build it, only to change their minds a little later. Now we have the 2.0 model which, according to their original press statement, should be available on order. "Upon customer request, the R8 E-Tron will be available for order in 2015 as an electrically powered sports car in supreme hand-built quality," it said.
But according to our information, the R8 e-tron will only hit the market in late 2016, when the battery tech from LG Chem and Samsung SDI will be available.
The sexy coupe relies on a T-shaped 92-kWh lithium-ion battery pack to deliver an impressive 279-mile (450-km) range. It doesn't quite have as much power as a Tesla Model S. Two electric motors give it 456 horsepower, enough to go from 0 to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 155 mph. That number drops to 130 mph when low rolling resistance tires are installed.
So the R8 e-tron isn't going to set records, but it's not going to destroy the ozone layer either. For the sake of comparison, the first R8 e-tron was supposed to be much slower. It only had 313 horsepower and took 5.2 seconds to reach 62 mph. Aren't you glad they didn't build it?
A few details have changed since the last time we saw the car, leading us to believe that Audi presented a pre-production prototype in Geneva. For example, the headlights aren't tinted, and the vertical element of the air vents for the brakes are slightly different. On the R8 shown in Geneva, the front grille was made of naked carbon fiber, but not here.
You may also notice that the blades on the sides now glow bright orange and the wheels no longer have an aero cover to reduce drag.
In 2013, Audi made the first R8 e-tron and said they were going to build it, only to change their minds a little later. Now we have the 2.0 model which, according to their original press statement, should be available on order. "Upon customer request, the R8 E-Tron will be available for order in 2015 as an electrically powered sports car in supreme hand-built quality," it said.
But according to our information, the R8 e-tron will only hit the market in late 2016, when the battery tech from LG Chem and Samsung SDI will be available.
The sexy coupe relies on a T-shaped 92-kWh lithium-ion battery pack to deliver an impressive 279-mile (450-km) range. It doesn't quite have as much power as a Tesla Model S. Two electric motors give it 456 horsepower, enough to go from 0 to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 155 mph. That number drops to 130 mph when low rolling resistance tires are installed.
So the R8 e-tron isn't going to set records, but it's not going to destroy the ozone layer either. For the sake of comparison, the first R8 e-tron was supposed to be much slower. It only had 313 horsepower and took 5.2 seconds to reach 62 mph. Aren't you glad they didn't build it?
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