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(Elbil24 🙂 Elbil24 is true to tradition and drives most electric cars at a very early stage. That should also have been the case with Audi’s heaviest electric car to date, the RS e-tron GT. However, this would lead to a trip to Spain, which is not advisable these days. Then there is nothing to do but go for the second best solution.
One who gladly took on the task was Lucas Di Grassi, the Brazilian who, among other things, has been world champion in Formula E.
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He probably has to be interpreted with a slightly stronger filter than others, as he still drives one of Audi’s Formula E cars, but it’s still interesting to hear what he has to say, in addition to the technical details Audi has to tell about their new sports car.
RS = heaviest variety
We have previously been out and predicted a bit about the production versions of the e-tron GT. The car is known to be a close relative of the Porsche Taycan, where most of the technology is shared. Almost everything, in fact.
That Audi releases information about the heaviest version at first was a bit surprising, but it is the RS e-tron GT we have now received information about.
The car delivers 646 horsepower with so-called overboost, from a torque of 830 Nm. This is enough to make the sprint to 100 km / h in less than 3.5 seconds, and give a top speed of 250 km / h.
These are wild performances in any car, and it is actually a physical strain to do repetitive exercises of such hefty accelerations.
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Power plug
There is an electric motor of 335 kW at the rear, and one of 175 kW at the front. Software according to the chosen driving style determines how these two should work together. As in the Taycan, there is a two-speed gearbox on the engine at the rear. The first gear is geared down, from 1: 1 transmission, while the second gear is geared up. This gives the car an easier way to a fast sprint, and it has an easier task of reaching top speed, without running out towards the end.
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The battery is 93.4 kWh gross, while the usable part is 83.7 kWh.
As in Taycan, great emphasis has been placed on being able to do repetitive exercises, whether it is 0-100 km / h, or whether there are repeated exits of curves on the track, without losing effect and performance. Several cars on the market today can handle the stated performance only under special conditions.
If the battery is fully charged, an empty battery is approaching, it is too hot outside, or maybe it is too cold – all this contributes to a reduced effect on most electric cars.
This is simply because temperature control is essential, first and foremost for the batteries, but also for motors and other electronics. In total, heating or cooling is supplied to four different circuits, and there are valves that control where hot or cold air is sent or fetched. The behavior is about the same as on the Tesla Model Y, which has got what Tesla calls the octovalve. There is in practice a four-way valve in and a four-way valve out. Both Audi and Tesla use the solution in combination with a heat pump.
– In Formula E, it is even more extreme. When we charge, we actively cool the battery with dry ice to a temperature lower than the ambient. It gives us more to go on considering the system temperature during the race, says di Grassi.
In standard cars, it becomes a bit violent to resort to dry ice, but a heat pump can do the trick. Many people claim that a heat pump in a car is without effect when the temperature crawls down to 10-15 degrees below zero, but that is not true. Precisely because the car can choose whether it is cold outdoor air or already heated liquid that should be the sensor on the primary side, the system is effectively far beyond what we are used to from, for example, air-to-air heat pumps to houses where the outdoor climate is the only possible primary source.
Violent effects
Audi confirms that they also support fast charging – or lightning charging, as it is called – of up to 270 kW of power with 800 volt technology. As of today, it is known that only Ionity delivers this, but the e-tron GT naturally also consumes 400 volts, when it gets it.
The battery is otherwise placed in the floor of the car, except in the footwell of the rear seat passengers. There is reserved space for a pair of decent feet on each side. For those sitting in the front seats, it is a little more natural that there is plenty of space in the front, and that you stretch your legs out, than down.
The e-tron GT also has the option of a charging hatch on both sides, and we know the sales apparatus of Audi well enough to guess that this will be an option, and at an extra price – just like from Porsche. The standard connector is located at the rear of the left front fender, and it is of course the CCS charging connector. If you choose a connector on both sides, the right one will probably only contain the AC part of the charging connector, ie a type 2 connector that can handle up to 22 kW at most.
Hear what Aksel Lund Svindal thinks about Taycan:
And once we’re inside. We have seen pictures of the interior of the concept car, which is claimed to be very close to the production version. Nevertheless, Audi has chosen to cover the most important details of this prototype. It can be due to two reasons. Either because the workmanship on this is poor, or that they have surprises to come with the day the tablecloth is pulled off for good.
Will Audi also offer an extra screen in front of the front passenger, for example?
One thing we can disprove right away is that they are not going to put the camera mirrors on the outside of the e-tron GT. Here they clearly support Porsche, which has stated that “those mirrors never come on any of our cars”.
Driving machine
Cars are constantly appearing on the market that have good performances. Just today we wrote about a new Chinese SUV coming on the market before the summer here in Norway, Seres SF5 EV. The interesting thing is that this is expected to be a reasonable competitor to Aud i e-tron, Jaguar i-Pace and their like. However, the Seres SF5 EV offers about exactly the same performance on paper as the RS e-tron GT sports car.
The sprint should take less than 3.5 seconds, the top speed is 250 km / h, and the battery around 90 kWh.
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It is in such cases that it is just as important to talk about the differences, as the similarities. We had some of the same discussion when the Porsche Taycan came on the market, because why should one buy it instead of the Tesla Model S, when the latter was cheaper and more practical.
Anyone who wants a driving machine that offers more than just paper numbers such as 0-100 km / h and top speed understands what I mean. Or those who have tested Taycan and Model S in search of an autophile experience. Then family cars get to be family cars.
And once we get to that. The editions of the e-tron GT we have seen have appeared as a four-seater, but we do not rule out that it may also appear as 4 + 1, in the same way as the Taycan.
We joined the winter test of the Porsche Taycan
High-end
The RS e-tron GT is set up with air springs as standard, and in combination with adjustable dampers, you can use Drive Select in the usual Audi spirit to set up steering, throttle response and chassis to your liking. Either through the pre-programmed positions, or an individual position, where you set the level for each individual function.
In addition, it offers four-wheel steering, which stabilizes at high speeds, as it steers with. At low speeds, it steers against, and helps to strengthen the willingness to turn, and almost cancels much of gravity. This is especially important for electric cars, which are heavy in the first place.
For this reason, Audi has also put large brakes on the car, and large brakes require large wheels. Unfortunately, it is also the case that large wheels weigh a lot, which is not beneficial for consumption and range. Audi has therefore placed great emphasis on the rims weighing as little as possible, and the 19-inch weighs just under 12.5 kg. Should you want a further reduction in weight, and up in braking effect, then just put money on the table and get the car delivered with ceramic brakes. There is also a middle ground, where the discs have a tungsten-carbide alloy, in addition to ordinary steel brakes, of course.
For now, we have to wait a little longer before we take our copy, but it is not very long.
Already right on the other side of the New Year, the first customers will get their cars, and in between now and then it’s time for Audi to announce the prices.
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