Photo: Audi AG
Unveiled at the same time, the 2021 Audi e-tron S and e-Tron S Sportback have instantly become the quickest, most powerful members of Audi’s electric family, at least until the Porsche Taycan-based e-tron GT comes.
While Tesla has been working on a tri-motor setup version of the Model S, tentatively named ‘Plaid’, for over a year now, Audi has beaten the American carmaker to the punch with its newest versions of its all-electric SUVs.
Both the e-tron S and the e-tron S Sportback share a modular architecture that allows them to feature two electric motors on the rear axle and one on the front.
The total output in S gear is 503 horsepower and 973 Nm (717.6 lb-ft) of torque, available for up to 8 seconds at a time, which results in a 0-100 kph (62 mph) acceleration time of 4.5 seconds, onward to a top speed of 210 kph (130 mph).
The same motor that until now was powering the rear axle of the e-tron 55 is now installed on the front axle on the two S models, while the high-voltage battery can hold a capacity of 95 kWh gross energy, of which 86 kWh is usable to conserve its capacity in the long term.
The new e-tron S has a range of up to 364 km (226 miles), while the e-tron S Sportback can go up to 370 km (230 miles) on a single charge in the WLTP cycle.
The real trick with the new e-tron S models is represented by the torque vectoring function, though, thanks to the fully variable torque distribution between the two wheels on the rear axle provided by two different motors.
Each of the two rear electric motors sends its power directly to the respective wheel through a single-speed transmission, with no mechanical differential being needed,
To improve efficiency, in normal driving modes the two electric SUVs ae rear-wheel-drive only, with the front electric motor springing into action only smashes the acceleration pedal or traction is lost on the rear, making for a similar principle as the quattro system in the Audi R8.
The two sports electric SUVs will be launched on the European markets in fall 2020. In Germany, the base price for the 2021 Audi e-tron S starts at EUR 91,435.29 (approx $108,400) while the e-tron S Sportback is slightly more expensive, starting at EUR 93,628.58 ($111,000 at current exchange rates). The U.S. market will probably get them in the first half of 2021.
Both the e-tron S and the e-tron S Sportback share a modular architecture that allows them to feature two electric motors on the rear axle and one on the front.
The total output in S gear is 503 horsepower and 973 Nm (717.6 lb-ft) of torque, available for up to 8 seconds at a time, which results in a 0-100 kph (62 mph) acceleration time of 4.5 seconds, onward to a top speed of 210 kph (130 mph).
The same motor that until now was powering the rear axle of the e-tron 55 is now installed on the front axle on the two S models, while the high-voltage battery can hold a capacity of 95 kWh gross energy, of which 86 kWh is usable to conserve its capacity in the long term.
The new e-tron S has a range of up to 364 km (226 miles), while the e-tron S Sportback can go up to 370 km (230 miles) on a single charge in the WLTP cycle.
The real trick with the new e-tron S models is represented by the torque vectoring function, though, thanks to the fully variable torque distribution between the two wheels on the rear axle provided by two different motors.
Each of the two rear electric motors sends its power directly to the respective wheel through a single-speed transmission, with no mechanical differential being needed,
To improve efficiency, in normal driving modes the two electric SUVs ae rear-wheel-drive only, with the front electric motor springing into action only smashes the acceleration pedal or traction is lost on the rear, making for a similar principle as the quattro system in the Audi R8.
The two sports electric SUVs will be launched on the European markets in fall 2020. In Germany, the base price for the 2021 Audi e-tron S starts at EUR 91,435.29 (approx $108,400) while the e-tron S Sportback is slightly more expensive, starting at EUR 93,628.58 ($111,000 at current exchange rates). The U.S. market will probably get them in the first half of 2021.
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