Go Behind The Scenes In The Development Of The Audi E
The battle for electric car supremacy is starting to really heat up now that established automakers are joining the fray. As Audi details in this behind-the-scenes video looking at the crossover's gestation, the e-tron had one of the most expensive development programs in Audi's history. Not surprising considering the vehicle represents the start of the transition away from internal-combustion engines to electric motors, not only for Audi but also its Volkswagen Group parent. The e-tron is the German auto giant's first electric car designed from the ground up to run on electricity, so the development team were under tremendous pressure. Thousands have been involved, working over a period of about four years and in four different continents. The video above provides a vast number of insights into the development program, including a look at the production process of the battery and electric motors. Interestingly, the e-tron's plant in Brussels, Belgium, is the first electric car plant where the batteries are assembled alongside the cars they will power. The e-tron made its debut last fall and is due in showrooms in the second quarter of 2019. There's already an online reservation system set up if you'd like to be one of the first to take delivery. Normally, the e-tron will operate in rear-wheel-drive mode, with the front motor only adding power when needed. Audi says the e-tron will accelerate from 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 124 mph. And when properly equipped, the vehicle will also be able to tow 4,000 pounds. The range is estimated at somewhere between 200 and 250 miles on a single charge.
Our archrival BMW seemed to be as good or better, but with a front engine. That didn't make sense. But I felt the 911's tail wanting to snap loose if I wasn't careful about the throttle. Interestingly, it seemed like the more racy the 911, the worse it behaved, especially in the last eight years. The Motorsports department seemed to like pointy oversteer. My hypothesis: Perhaps their Werksfahrers鈥攜oung superstars who grew up karting鈥攄o their test-driving. Karts have a solid axle, no differential. If the driver doesn't kick it sideways, it understeers like crazy. I figure the Werksfahrers bring this psychology over to the big cars, because that's just how they felt. At least, that's how the factory cars felt when I raced them. For years, I've felt that the basic street Porsches were the best-balanced and that the closer it got to Porsche Motorsport, the worse the cars handled and the more they oversteered. Some consider that sporty, lively.
I consider it unnecessary. Three recent cars with which I am intimate鈥攖he 911 GT America for the IMSA GTD-class a few years ago and the 991-era GT3 Cup cars, both the 991.1 and the current 991.2鈥攚ere difficult to drive fast. They were dicey, quite spinnable, and spooky. Not what a customer-racer needs. Enter Frank Walliser, the relatively recent head of Porsche Motorsport, with whom I credit the great success of the GT2 RS. With this new-gen street-legal racer, I see a real change in chassis behavior, one I've never before seen in a modern-era 911. Stability. Traction. Grip. Power to the ground. A real, positive omen for the Motorsport cars of the future. The GT2 RS was my personal choice for Best Driver's Car (sorry, Lamborghini). Stable and confidence-inspiring yet with precise steering response even under full throttle, a tough combination to achieve with rear weight bias. Balance. I argued hard for it, but my colleagues had not experienced the sublime pleasure of driving it on a velvet-smooth racetrack, where I found it did everything so right.
It felt as if a heavenly beam of light had shone down upon it, endowing it with magical powers. My colleagues drove it on Route 198, a civilian road with real-world undulations and unpredictable pavement. Many of the editors drove it in Sport Plus mode, as did I. Stiff. Far too stiff for that road, beyond the range of the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) to absorb. Those conditions caused the car to leap about a bit and instigated the ABS to a disconcerting extreme. Just a punch of a button into Normal mode could have saved the day. Forgive us, for we knew not yet what we did. Part of the value in the GT2 RS comes from sophisticated systems like PASM, rear-wheel steering, dynamic engine mounts, Porsche Torque Vectoring, and Porsche Stability Management. Yet it's more than that. These aids have been tuned with great finesse. The latest GT3 RS has the same systems, yet it's nervous on corner entry. Shall we blame the karters again?
That car was a disappointment to me; although nearly every component was made more track-oriented from the GT3, the balance was lost. That was my concern here, and my joy to discover. In braking, I have bragged that Corvettes have world-class capability, and although braking is still very strong, the pedal feel has gone soft in all six cars I've driven on track. I don't notice it on the street, but that firm, instant response I enjoyed now feels "like stepping on a wet sponge," according to the testing notes of one of our editors. Perfect. Immediate, linear, and record-short distances in our testing. And tires. Although both cars have Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, each is tuned to its own spec, and we at MT have recognized the 'Vette's rubber as something special. But to the seat of my pants, these latest Porsche GT2 RS R-spec SC2s have spiraled up the bar.