Audi reveals more powerful e-tron

Tuesday, 25 February 2020

Audi e-tron: Top Luxury SUV

Audi's e-tron has only been on sale for about half a year but that isn't stopping Ingolstadt from cranking up the output on its electric SUV.

The standard e-tron makes a healthy 300kW/664Nm under Boost Mode but the newly revealed S version offers a peak output of 370kW and a face-melting 973Nm of torque. Under regular driving, the S has 320kW/808Nm on tap, compared to 265kW/561Nm.

That extra oomph comes from Audi adding an extra motor to the rear axle, bringing the total count to three. Having one motor on each rear wheel has allowed Audi's engineers to work in rear-end torque vectoring to increase cornering performance.

Audi has cranked the output dial on its e-tron SUV up to 11 in the new S model. It makes 370kW/973Nm in Boost Mode.

Under full power, the e-tron S will hit 100kmh in 5.4 seconds, which is pretty darn quick for an SUV weighing over 2.5 tonnes.

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It doesn't look much different (aside from the orange paint) but the e-tron S will leave the regular e-tron in the dust on the on-ramp.

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Expect range to take a hit, however, as the S uses the same 95kWh battery as the existing e-tron 55.

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During regular driving, the front motor is disengaged to help reduce battery consumption. It kicks in when the driver wants extra power or if the rear wheels lose too much traction.

Audi hasn't yet confirmed the range for the S but it will use the same 95kWh battery as the e-tron 55. Given it has another motor drive at least some of the time, expect range to come in a bit below the WLTP-rated 417km for the e-tron 55.

As for styling, it's largely identical to the existing model. There's a new front bumper with larger air inlets and the rear features a larger diffuser.

As standard, the wheels are 20-inchers but Audi will offer different styles up to 22 inches in size.

Inside is a similar affair. Electric sports seats are standard and various S badges dot the cabin to remind passengers which model they're sitting in.

As options, buyers can select chairs with thicker bolsters or air-conditioned seats with perforated leather.

We've reached out to Audi New Zealand to see whether we'll get the high-performance e-tron. Currently, the range consists of the e-tron 55 and smaller e-tron 50, with Sportback variants of the two on the way. Pricing starts at $134,900.