Skip to main content

Next Audi R8 May Ditch V10 For 1,000 HP EV Powertrain

The next-generation Audi R8 could be a fully electric performance car with over 1,000 hp on tap, British publication Autocar reports.

Audi allegedly shelved plans to develop a third-generation R8 following the disappointing response to the second-generation model. It’s now reconsidering the idea, minus the internal combustion engine part. Keen to have an entire stable of E-Tron branded electric vehicles, Audi believes there’s room in its lineup for a high-performance EV that would serve as a successor to the mid-engine V10 R8.

Autocar’s report suggests the supercar will pull inspiration from the recently unveiled Audi PB18 E-Tron Concept. It will tap that vehicle’s shooting brake rear end, giving the car more daily usability. That doesn’t mean performance won’t be the main focus, however. Audi is allegedly targeting an output of close to or over 1,000 hp for the R8 EV, which will enable a 0-60 mph sprint of “scarcely more than two seconds” and a top speed of 186 mph.

The PB18 E-Tron is powered by a forward-thinking electric drivetrain that consists of a 95 kWh battery and three electric motors making a combined output of 671 hp and 612 lb-ft of torque. Audi also gave us a glimpse at what its electric motors are capable of in the fully working E-Tron Vision Gran Turismo Concept, which featured two rear axle motors and a single front axle motor making a combined 815 hp.

It’s clear Audi has the technical know-how to produce a 1,000 hp R8 EV, then, but will this rumored product ever see the light of day? Rumors point to it arriving in 2022, so it should be interesting to see if it arrives shortly before or after other coming EV supercars like Ferrari’s rumored EV and the second-gen Tesla Roadster. Some hybrid supercars should also be on sale by that time, including Lamborghini’s forthcoming hybrid Aventador and Huracan successors.

a version of this article firs appeared on AutoGuide

The post Next Audi R8 May Ditch V10 For 1,000 HP EV Powertrain appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2CxuHJF
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volkswagen Golf GTE Wins Top Honor at the 2015 Business Techies Awards

Golf GTE wins Green category in the 2015 BusinessCar Fleet Technology awards Judges praised the Golf GTE for its performance, ease of use and economy Golf GTE launched earlier this year with plug-in hybrid technology – priced from £33,755 204 PS performance combined with CO 2  emissions of just 39 g/km Volkswagen has added to its growing list of 2015 automotive industry accolades by winning the Green category in the annual BusinessCar Fleet Technology Awards – the Techies. The prestigious title was awarded to Volkswagen for the Golf GTE, an innovative plug-in hybrid that combines sporty dynamics with exceptional fuel economy and low CO 2  emissions. Now in their seventh year, the Techies are judged by both BusinessCar’s experienced editorial panel with help from TRL’s technology expert. The industry’s only technology-specific awards, the BusinessCar Techies reward the use of technology to make business car fleet operations easier, cheaper, cleaner, safer and more straig...
Post a Comment
Read more