Audi Sport’s electrification strategy is thought to include a high-end version of the E-Tron GT. Believed to bear the RS E-Tron GT moniker, it should follow in the footsteps of the regular car and is expected to debut at the 2020 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Quoting Audi Sport’s Managing Director, Julius Seebach, Autocar reports that the standard and S variants of the electric car will herald the arrival of the RS-branded model. The E-Tron GT will share its architecture with the Porsche Taycan, although it’s unknown whether it will be offered with the same outputs, namely 523, 670 and 751 HP found in the Taycan 4S, Turbo and Turbo S respectively.
Moreover, a good chunk of the company’s sporty vehicles will go down the plug-in hybrid route. The first to be offered with such a powertrain could be the next generation RS4 Avant, which will go head-to-head with the upcoming Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate PHEV. It is understood that the latter will ditch the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 for a plug-in hybrid four-pot and have a combined output in excess of 500 HP. The new RS4 is expected to arrive after 2022, given that the facelifted iteration of the B9.5 generation was launched only last fall.
An RS version of the E-Tron Sportback is under consideration and could add a third electric motor, alongside a tuned chassis and steering and specific body kit. Prototypes with a lower ground clearance have already been seen testing at the Nurburgring, probably signaling the arrival of the production-spec that could be previewed this year, probably as concepts, prior to a 2021 launch.
The R8 E-Tron will also make a comeback, according to the British publication, in a limited number that should launch in late 2020. It will look similar to the model presented in 2015, which packed two rear-mounted electric motors for a total output of 456 hp and 921 Nm)of torque, and had a maximum 450-km range.
With the advances in electric vehicle technology that have been made since, the new electric R8 should be both more powerful and more affordable than the first-gen, which cost £ 850,000 and resulted in it being produced in a mere 100 units.
