Audi has used CES 2021 to show off their RS E-Tron GT (launched with a pre-production version late last year). This is Audi’s take on the Porsche Taycan platform and, like the Porsche, is pipped to make Tesla’s Model S redundant.
A whisker slower than the R8 Performance that graced the EFTM Garage last year, the RS E-Tron GT turns scenery into a blur all while cosseting four passengers and emitting zero emissions. The RS E-Tron’s ability to dispatch the 0-100kph sprint in 3.5 seconds and thunder (er, silently) down the quarter mile in around 11 seconds is bloody impressive.
Putting this into perspective, it is just a second or so slower than a McLaren P1 or a Dodge Hellcat Demon. However, it is also slightly slower than that pesky Tesla Model S, although I suspect the Audi to be a much, much better built and accomplished car than the Tesla.
Of course, such spectacular performance puts me in a quandary – surely the environmental advantages of electric power are neutralised if you regularly access this type of performance. Still, I guess if you have access to plentiful clean energy from which to charge your E-Tron then maybe it isn’t.
Still, I can’t help but think I would plumb for, say, the truly magnificent RS6 Avant and it’s cracking V8 or the R8 Performance and its wailing V10 AND a little PHEV or BEV for running down to the shops in. The RS E-Tron can provide a simulated V8 soundtrack matched to your throttle response if you like, but that’s not really the same, is it?
Let me know what you think. Am I missing the point of super high performance luxury EV?
EFTM’s coverage of CES 2021 is supported by Hisense, Samsung and Powered by Telstra’s 5G.
Adam – or Flipsy as he’s known to Trev – is one of Trev’s best mates going back to high-school. He knows more about cars than many would care to imagine so he’s the perfect fit to find the whacky, innovative and new stories about and around cars at CES in Las Vegas.
