New Audi RS e-tron GT: Redefining The Supercar
The old rules are rewritten by engineers who continue to innovate and improve.
Audi RS e-tron GT
It’s universally accepted that supercar ownership remains the stuff of dreams for many and a hard-earned reality for the few. But perhaps the time has come to readdress that narrative? Audi certainly thinks so and their latest RS e-tron GT makes a compelling argument that the supercar moniker is an open definition.
Let’s begin there. Ask someone to describe a supercar and the answers you get will almost certainly cover a similar theme: something low, loud, probably Italian and probably red. For decades, that impression has defined the category. But as with most things automotive, time and technology reshapes perception. Today, a car with four doors, four seats and a boot can accelerate as fast as an Enzo or an Aventador. It sounds absurd. And yet here we are.
In truth, the idea that electric performance might supersede petrol power was seeded some time ago, when a young Mr Musk and his Californian engineers began quietly over-delivering with their early Tesla Model S variants. The P85D, if you remember, was the first real wake-up call. A large, executive saloon with the ability to launch itself from 0-60 mph in a shade over three seconds. It made 691 horsepower and north of 900Nm of torque. At the time, these were almost laughable figures. Except the laughter soon stopped, particularly in Stuttgart, Maranello and Sant’Agata.
That car, though flawed in handling and finesse, laid the foundations. Today, the RS e-tron GT stands not just as the evolution of that idea, but as the fully matured result of what happens when a company like Audi and by extension Porsche, goes all-in.
Let’s get the numbers out of the way first. The RS e-tron GT develops 670 hp, produces a frankly monstrous 895Nm of torque and will sprint to 62mph in just 3.1 seconds in standard mode. Top speed? Electronically limited to 155mph. activate the ‘push to pass’ boost button and you get 764 hp. Launch it and you get 845 hp, bringing the final acceleration number to 2.8 seconds.
Most notably, this isn’t just ‘straight-line only’ performance either. The e-tron GT is wearing the RS badge after all and it is a properly dynamic machine. Adaptive air suspension system, all-wheel steering, a perfectly calibrated low centre of gravity and quattro drive delivered through twin motors, one on each axle, means this thing devours bends with insane levels of confidence.
The result? It handles. It really, really handles. This is a 2.3-tonne car that feels astonishingly composed, especially when you start threading it through tight switchbacks or carving long, sweeping A-roads. The steering is beautifully weighted, precise but not nervous, and the torque vectoring does its thing so discreetly you never really feel the system intervening. It just remains planted, stable and balanced.
What’s more remarkable is that the car delivers all of this without ever feeling harsh or punishing. Leave it in its ‘Comfort’ setting and it glides with a dignity few performance cars can match. In ‘Dynamic’, it sharpens, tightens and tenses just enough but never becomes twitchy or shouty. It remains, above all, an Audi. Which means it’s competent across all conditions.
The performance, then, is well and truly present. But what elevates the RS e-tron GT is the sense of occasion it offers. The cabin is exquisite. There’s a maturity to Audi interiors that few rival marques can equal and here, that sense of precision and polish is elevated even further. Everything you touch has the right weight and finish. The digital interface is sharp and slick but never overwhelming. The seats squeeze rather than hug, the driving position is spot-on and the whole space feels low and sporty.
There’s also a pleasant restraint to the way Audi has managed the aesthetic. It would have been all too easy to lean into exaggerated styling to signal ‘performance EV’, but instead the RS e-tron GT is elegant, muscular and utterly modern. The surfacing is taut, the lines are low and flowing and the stance is absolutely right. From the rear three-quarter, with its broad haunches and low profile, it has more than a hint of supercar about it.
In fact, its overall balance might be the car’s greatest strength. Not just in the handling or weight distribution (which is obviously 50:50) but in its whole character. This is a supercar that you could drive to a client meeting on a Wednesday and then gurn your way home via the B-roads. It has range enough for long-distance work (up to 283 miles WLTP) and charging speeds that are decent (800-volt architecture allows rapid DC charging at up to 270kW). In real terms, which means 5 to 80 percent in just over 20 minutes.
And despite its astonishing pace and advanced underpinnings, the RS e-tron GT doesn’t try to beat you over the head with its cleverness. There are no annoying gimmicks. No frivolous party tricks. Just a refined, mature, deeply sorted machine.
And we arrive back at where we started: the Audi RS e-tron GT is a supercar. Just not in the way we used to define them but in the way they are defined today. It is low, sleek, brutally fast and exquisitely made. But it also has four seats, a proper boot and a level of real-world usability that makes it the most grown-up performance car on sale today. It is both a weekend weapon and a weekday companion.
In short, it is what happens when the old rules are rewritten by engineers who continue to innovate and improve.
https://www.audi.co.uk/en/models/etrongt/audi-rs-e-tron-gt/
Model: Audi RS e-tron GT Carbon Black
Base Price (OTR / As Driven): £127,375 / £150,511
Propulsion: Dual Electric Motor, Lithium-Ion.
Drivetrain: Quattro all-wheel drive with e-torque vectoring
Transmission: Single-speed direct-drive
Output: Standard 670 hp, Boost Mode 764 hp, Launch Control 845 hp.
Torque: 895 Nm
Kerb Weight: 2,395 kg.
0-62 mph: 3.1 Seconds (Standard), 2.8 Seconds (Launch Control)
Top Speed: 155 mph (Limited)
Consumption: 3.3 miles/kWh
C02 Emission: 0 g/km
