Photo: Audi
When the Four Rings of Ingolstadt revealed the R8 at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, we all knew that Audi had rebadged and re-bodied the Lamborghini Gallardo to suit the German automaker’s customer pool. Redesigned from the ground up with Huracan underpinnings at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the V10-engined supercar will probably go electric.
Speaking to our friends at Top Gear, the boss of technical development said that “it could make sense” because the e-tron GT is assembled on the R8’s production line. “We could do it if we wanted to,” added Marcus Duesmann, who has also shared his thoughts on the automaker’s smallest automobiles.
The fate of the A1, which can be described as a glorified Polo with more aggressive styling, is under discussion as we speak. The Q2 will stay because it’s a lucrative nameplate for the German brand, and believe it or not, the A2 may come back as an electric car under a different handle: E2.
Last but certainly not least, Duesmann told the British motoring publication that Project Artemis is expected in 2024 with Tesla-rivaling software. “A battery car with a new onboard network and Level 4 autonomous driving,” the yet-unnamed model will be mirrored by Volkswagen’s Project Trinity.
That said, let’s turn our focus back on the R8. The question is, can Audi afford to lose the free-breathing V10 in favor of two or more electric motors? Lamborghini, for example, has confirmed that customers can expect some kind of hybridization from the successors of the Aventador and Huracan. Given these circumstances, why wouldn’t Audi go electric?
This brings us to the second-gen Tesla Roadster and Model S Plaid+, which feature very similar drivetrains, probably the same battery capacity, and very similar performance figures. If the Palo Alto-based automaker can sell two body styles with almost interchangeable underpinnings, then Audi could do the same with the e-tron GT and the next generation of the R8.
The fate of the A1, which can be described as a glorified Polo with more aggressive styling, is under discussion as we speak. The Q2 will stay because it’s a lucrative nameplate for the German brand, and believe it or not, the A2 may come back as an electric car under a different handle: E2.
Last but certainly not least, Duesmann told the British motoring publication that Project Artemis is expected in 2024 with Tesla-rivaling software. “A battery car with a new onboard network and Level 4 autonomous driving,” the yet-unnamed model will be mirrored by Volkswagen’s Project Trinity.
That said, let’s turn our focus back on the R8. The question is, can Audi afford to lose the free-breathing V10 in favor of two or more electric motors? Lamborghini, for example, has confirmed that customers can expect some kind of hybridization from the successors of the Aventador and Huracan. Given these circumstances, why wouldn’t Audi go electric?
This brings us to the second-gen Tesla Roadster and Model S Plaid+, which feature very similar drivetrains, probably the same battery capacity, and very similar performance figures. If the Palo Alto-based automaker can sell two body styles with almost interchangeable underpinnings, then Audi could do the same with the e-tron GT and the next generation of the R8.
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