Audi RS e-tron GT to get a triple-motor, 710 PS setup?

The soon-to-be-launched Audi e-tron GT range will reportedly be crowned by the RS e-tron GT, and a report by AutoExpress said that it’s pretty much a done deal. This makes the RS e-tron GT the first ever full electric car to be developed by Audi Sport.

Interestingly, customers need not wait long to get their hands on the RS variant. The report said the sleek grand tourer will be available as early as mid-2021, just mere months after the vanilla e-tron models hit showroom floors. Audi initially planned to launch the e-tron GT at the Los Angeles Motor Show (where the concept debuted in 2018) this year, but the pandemic forced all plans to be thrown out the window.

Built on the same J1 platform as the Porsche Taycan, the RS e-tron GT is said to get a three-motor setup (two at the back, one up front), all of which will combine to produce around 710 PS. By contrast, the top Taycan Turbo S only uses two motors to make a peak output of 761 PS (on overboost) and 1,050 Nm, so if the rumours are true, Audi’s electric GT could easily have a higher overboost ceiling.

Non-RS models get a dual-motor setup, providing all-wheel drive and torque vectoring. In its current concept form, the car puts out 590 PS, which is good for a century sprint time of 3.5 seconds. Its 90 kWh lithium-ion battery will provide around 400 km of range, and it too uses the same 800-volt electrical system as the Taycan, and therefore is capable of ultra-fast 270 kW DC charging.

The RS e-tron GT, on the other hand, could get a slightly larger 95 kWh lithium-ion battery (also good for a range of 400 km). Audi says the triple-motor setup enables “controlled drifting,” and additional tweaks will be made to its chassis tuning, uprated suspension and lower ride height. Expect it to do the 0-100 km/h sprint in the low three-second region, if not quicker.

All variants of the Audi e-tron GT, including high-performance RS models, will be produced at Audi’s Böllinger Höfe facility in Neckarsulm. Prices are expected to start from around £80,000 (RM431k) for the entry-level model, to £120,000 (RM646k) for the RS e-tron GT.