Audi introduced its
all-new e-tron earlier this year and a new report is indicating it will soon be
joined by an entry-level variant and a high-performance model.
Top Gear’s report
is light on specifics, but says the entry-level model will arrive within the
next year. Buyers looking for a high-performance model will have a longer wait
as that particular variant isn’t expected to be launched until early 2020.
There’s no word on
specifications, but the current e-tron starts at US$ 74,800. This makes it
significantly more affordable than the Tesla Model X which retails for US$ 84,000
before incentives. However, the e-tron is slightly more expensive than the
Jaguar I-Pace which begins at US$ 69,500.
The entry-level
e-tron would obviously be more affordable than the current model, but there’s
no word on how much customers can expect to save. It also remains unclear how
the saving will be achieved, but it’s likely the entry-level model will have a
reduced range and / or lower performance.
The
high-performance model is the more interesting of the two and the magazine
speculates it could come with an additional electric motor that powers the rear
wheels. If this were to occur, the crossover would have three electric motors
and a potential output of around 640 hp.
The standard e-tron
55 quattro has two electric motors that develop a combined output of up to 402
hp and 664 Nm of torque. The motors are powered
by a 95 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and the model can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in as little as 5.7 seconds. The e-tron also has a limited top
speed of 200 km/h and a combined range of 417 km in the
WLTP test cycle.
