The Audi e-Tron and e-Tron Sportback are getting ready to welcome a pair of faster and more focused ‘S’ performance variants into their expanding family
Expected to launch in the second half of the year, Audi claims that the e-Tron S models will be “the first electric cars worldwide with three motors in mass production”, two on the rear axle and one at the front (key word here being ‘mass produced’).
Watch Also: Can The Audi E-Tron SUV Convince You To Go Down The All-Electric Road?
This means more punch at the push of the throttle (or is that a foot-button?) and electric all-wheel drive. As for the numbers, you’re looking at 429 HP (435 PS / 320 kW) and 596 lb-ft (808 Nm) of torque in D gear, with up to 496 HP (503 PS / 370 kW) and 718 lb-ft (973 Nm) of torque available in the so-called ‘overboost’ mode offered for a maximum time of 8 seconds at a time. The two e-Tron crossovers complete the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 4.5 seconds and top out at 131 mph (211 km/h).
Ingolstadt says that charging their 95 kWh battery pack from 5 to 80 percent will take around half an hour when using a 150 kW fast charger. The battery can also be charged with up to 11 kW of alternating current, but unfortunately, there’s no word yet on the maximum range.
Now that we went through the basics of the e-Tron S and e-Tron Sportback S, let’s move on to the real reason why we’ve gathered here: the fun factor. So, without any further ado, can you drift Audi’s sporty electric SUV? Well, the GIF posted above ruins the surprise, but hey, at least you know the answer to this question beforehand.
Not enough for you? No worries, we’ve got you covered. If you want to see more of both the e-Tron S and e-Tron Sportback S, check out the detailed presentation of the funky-wrapped pre-production cars below.