For years, the Audi R8 V10 has been the German automaker’s quickest production model but can the mid-engined supercar hang with the all-new and all-electric Audi RS e-tron GT?
To answer that question, Auditography lined up an RS e-tron GT against a brand new Audi R8 V10 Performance Green Hell, a limited-run model introduced last year. Unlike so many other drag racing videos you’ll find on YouTube, this clip is short and simple and only shows the race and nothing else.
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While the R8 is the more striking of the two to look at and is also much louder, it is actually at a power deficit to the RS e-tron GT. You see, whereas the R8 V10 Performance has a 5.2-liter naturally-aspirated V10 with 612 hp and 428 lb-ft (580 Nm) of torque, the two electric motors of the RS e-tron GT combine to deliver 637 hp and 612 lb-ft (830 Nm) with Overboost enabled off the line.
Pulling away, the two cars are very well matched but it is the RS e-tron GT that pulls out a small lead and keeps this lead throughout the race. While the R8 was a tad slower, it did give the drag race a lovely soundtrack.
A look at the performance data after the race reveals that the RS e-tron GT needed just 2.85 seconds to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) while the R8 hit the same mark in 2.95 seconds, two very impressive times considering the race was held on a normal road and not a drag strip. The electric Audi also beat the R8 to 124 mph (200 km/h), reaching it in 9.91 seconds compared to the 10.2 of the R8. The RS e-tron GT ultimately ran a 10.69 seconds quarter-mile compared to the 10.95-second quarter-mile of the R8 V10 Performance.