Electric supercars such as the Audi R8 e-tron and Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive haven’t really caught on with consumers but automakers aren’t going to give them up anytime soon.
Speaking with Car&Driver, Audi’s head of technical development confirmed an electric supercar is “part of our plan” and mentioned he would like it to happen sooner rather than later. As Peter Mertens explained, “We’re not going to talk about that today, but I can tell you that for a brand like Audi, a supercar is always interesting, and it’s a segment in which we have been playing, we have been a very serious player.”
There’s no word on when the car will arrive but Mertens suggested the model could have an 800-volt charging system similar to the one expected to be used in the production version of the Porsche Mission E concept. Mertens admitted the high-performance charging system would drive up costs but noted price really isn’t an issue when it comes to the supercar segment.
Enthusiasts who can’t afford high-end supercars aren’t completely out of luck as Mertens hinted the company could offer S and RS versions of future e-tron models. The executive also hinted plug-in hybrid technology could be coming to standard S and RS variants as it’s “a fantastic technology for really delivering performance.”
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