Audi invited journalists to the Greek island of Rhodes to drive the pre-production RS E-Tron GT before the EV debuts later on in the year.
Officially announced a month ago and teased a couple of weeks later, the range-topping variant of the upcoming E-Tron GT lineup will make feature two electric motors, one at the front and one at the rear.
The preliminary numbers, confirmed to us by an Audi spokesperson, are 598 PS (590 HP / 440 kW) combined, with up to 646 PS (637 HP / 475 kW) on OverBoost, and 830 Nm (612 lb-ft) of torque. This will rocket it to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 3.5 seconds, despite weighing around 2.3 tons (5,070 lbs), and on to a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).
Listen: The New Audi E-Tron GT Sounds Like An Expensive Vacuum Cleaner
The electric sports sedan has a two-speed gearbox, with the first gear keeping it at under 80 km/h (50 mph), and a 93 kWh (83.7 kWh) battery that supports fast charging.
Positioned as a zero-emission alternative to the RS7, it is wider and lower, but has about the same length. The roofline is more sloping at the rear, which drastically cuts into the headroom for backseat occupants, but legroom is quite decent.
When it officially launches next spring, the E-Tron GT should start at around £100,000 (equal to $129,917 at the current exchange rates) in the United Kingdom in base form, whereas the RS is expected to cost approximately £130,000 ($168,892).
Now, the video shared below doesn’t show the skin of the RS E-Tron GT, nor its cockpit design, because journalists weren’t allowed to. Nonetheless, they did put the car through its paces, recording the 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) sprint and quarter-mile time using a third-party device before taking it out for a short spin on the narrow roads of the Greek island.