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Audi has revealed its e-Tron GT four-door electric coupe at the Los Angeles motor show. While it's technically still a concept for now, a car very, very like this should be going into production in 2020.
The e-Tron GT gets a 90kWh battery stack, powering two electric motors (giving it hugely adjustable quattro four-wheel drive) with a combined power output of 590hp. Audi claims a 3.5 second 0-100km/h spring time, and a top speed of 240km/h. Audi claims that the battery's cooling system means that the full performance capability of the powertrain is available all of the time, with the potential for multiple high-seed acceleration runs in succession, something that it pointedly notes that "not all the competition can match."
The battery, which draws heavily on the Porsche Taycan electric sports saloon (as does the rest of the e-Tron GT) gets an ultra-fast 800-volt charging system. Hook it up to a sufficiently fast charging point (150kW or better) and the e-Tron GT will huff down an 80 per cent charge in just 20 minutes, which should be good enough for another 320km of range.
As with the e-Tron SUV, which is being launched in Ireland very soon, Audi claims that the car's clever multi-mode regenerative braking system can add as much as 30 per cent of the total useable range of the car. The GT is designed to be driven as a 'one-pedal' car, with the battery regeneration taking care of braking at forces up to 0.3g deceleration (which is most of the braking you ever need to do) and with the mechanical brakes taking over after that. That range will be more than 400km on a full battery, on the new WLTP economy and emissions test.
Looking rather as if someone has run an A7 very hard up the back of an R8 supercar, the e-Tron GT is 4.96 metres long, 1.96 metres wide, and 1.38 metres tall. The lightweight body includes a lot of carbon construction, alongside aluminium and high-strength steel.
Amongst other high-end options, the concept sports 22-inch wheels and Matrix LED headlights.
Inside, Audi says that it has made the cabin as sustainable as possible, and that all the interior materials are vegan-friendly. There's man-made leather, fabrics made from recycled materials, microfibre headlining, and even carpets made from Econyl yarn, a recycled fibre made from used fishing nets.
Actually, the interior looks all but production-ready, with existing Audi screens and hardware incorporated into a new set of shapes, that are more upright and 'cliff-faced' than the more laid-back appearance of the cabins of the current A6 and A7.
It'll be practical too, with a large 450-litre boot at the back, and an extra 100 litres at the front, in a 'frunk' (or front-trunk, if you prefer).