Is It Up To The Hype? Audi R8 e-tron First Drive

When Audi dropped the otherworldly looking e-tron concept car on the public at the Frankfurt Auto Show back in the fall of 2009, illustrious board member and development boss Michael Dick promised that journalists would be behind the wheel of a running example in about a year. He went on to say that series production would follow by 2011. And though Audi has shown itself as credible when it comes to transforming cars from concept to reality, the claim still seemed a bit far-fetched.

Now, here we are, 14 months after the e-tron concept’s launch and an Audi engineer ushers this journalist through an entranceway to an awaiting matte grey R8. The driver’s door is ajar and I can see the familiar R8 cabin inside, albeit slightly modified with a Recaro racing seat. The gearshift lever has been swapped for one of the shift-by-wire leather grab handles from the latest A8 and it’s been paired with an alloy base that fits the R8’s center console.


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Lexus - 11/22/2010 4:18:02 PM

+1 Boost

Wow that with 3319 lb-ft of torque at the wheels you figure it would ripped the road into piece but the review said it perform below the Audi R8 V8? I love the Audi R8 and think it is the best looking coupe out there beside the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. So I was expecting a lot from this car and it does NOT sound good at all. What good is a Sport car if you can hear the exhaust note when you drive or floor?

I hope Audi will fix this problem by making it faster and the exhaust note louder. I would love to buy a use Pearl white Audi R8 5.2 V10 with black panel on the side. Could be in 4 year or 8 years, I don't give crap, I just love the way it look. This Audi R8 is an instant classic.

JRobUSC - 11/22/2010 5:27:12 PM

+1 Boost

http://www.rpmgo.com/audi-wasn%E2%80%99t-honest-about-e-tron-torque-figures-more-like-252-lb-ft-than-3319

Joe_Limon - 11/22/2010 5:28:22 PM

+1 Boost

3319lb-ft of torque at the wheels isn't very impressive at all. The standard v8 R8 puts out around 4800lb-ft of torque at the wheels in first gear. So on launch the e-tron will be a quite a bit slower.

JRobUSC - 11/22/2010 5:30:33 PM

+1 Boost

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/21/follow-up-audi-says-electric-e-tron-puts-out-501-5-lb-ft/

JRobUSC - 11/22/2010 5:37:40 PM

+1 Boost

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/03/audi-twists-e-tron-3319-lb-ft-torque-rating/

JRobUSC - 11/22/2010 5:36:11 PM

+2 Boost

they're using that geared down and multiplied torque figure because it looks good in ads. You could do the same thing for every car (a MB CL65 AMG, for example, would have between 5000-8000lb-ft using the method Audi used for the e-tron).

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 11/22/2010 9:17:36 PM

+1 Boost

Cant you autospies agents ban this janjan9 TWIT ?

I do not visit this site to read silly ads.