Audi introduced the
E-Tron last fall and it appears the company is putting the finishing touches on
a new performance variant. Spied undergoing testing on the Nürburgring, the
high-performance model has a familiar design with a few subtle changes. At the
front, the prototypes have been equipped with a modified bumper which features
angular accents which channel air into larger intakes. They are presumably
there to improve cooling of the beefier braking system.
Additional styling
changes are limited, but the prototypes have large lightweight alloy wheels
that are reportedly wrapped in wider tires. Last but not least, there’s a
revised rear bumper and a new diffuser with two fins that protrude from the
bottom.
Audi could have hinted at the car’s powertrain when it unveiled the
E-Tron Sportback concept in 2017. The concept had a tri-motor setup with a
single electric motor up front and two electric motors out back. At the time,
the automaker said the concept “uses a configuration that will also be adopted
in future production Audi models with all-electric drive.” If the powertrain
does carryover, we can expect the high-performance E-Tron to have a combined
output of 429 hpand 496 hp in Boost Mode.
That would be a
significant improvement over the standard E-Tron which has two electric motors
that produce 355 hp and 402 hp in Boost
Mode. As a result, we can expect the performance model to be significantly
faster than the standard crossover which runs from 0-96 km/h in 5.5
seconds.
The production
model is slated to be unveiled next year and it could wear either the S or RS
moniker.
