Is the Audi e-tron GT the most advanced production car in the world?

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Is the new Audi e-tron GT RS Performance now the most technically advanced production car in the world? It might be. I can’t think of another to best it, and I’ve driven a lot of fancy cars.

It helps that it will cost around a quarter of a million dollars when it goes on sale in Canada early next year. That’s a lot of money to be able to add features that we barely dreamed of just five years ago: a fully electric powertrain that can recharge at up to 320 kilowatt-hours; an adaptive suspension that tips the car into a corner like a motorcycle; a peak of more than 900 horsepower. Oh. My. God.

Premium all-electric vehicles have been a tough sell in Canada, and the regular e-tron sedan is no exception. They’re too costly for government incentives, which are capped at $70,000 for a higher trim of an SUV, and they’re still limited by range and convenience of recharging on the road. More important, the possibility of a change in the federal government means new gasoline-fuelled vehicles may not be banned by 2035 after all. So, thinking only financially, if you can afford to pay for today’s gas, why buy electric?

This is why car companies are doubling down on their commitments to produce all-electric vehicles, by making those vehicles truly remarkable.

First, a quick primer: In the Audi pantheon of vehicles, anything all-electric is called an e-tron. In Canada, there’s an e-tron Q4 SUV and an e-tron Q8 SUV, and the e-tron GT is the Grand Tourer sedan. Its most basic 2024 model begins at about $145,000, before taxes. It already makes more than 500 horsepower, and has an official Canadian range of 399 kilometres. If you appreciate performance, and you have enough money, you can step it up to the 2024 RS e-tron GT, which makes up to 637 horsepower and starts at about $205,000.

Now, the e-tron GT has been refreshed for 2025, adding more power and more range. Its base model now tops out at 670 horsepower, and it has another 100 kilometres of range, after adding more battery cells but making them lighter. It can hit 100 kilometres an hour from a standstill in 3.4 seconds. The RS e-tron GT is similarly boosted, with up to 844 horsepower and an extra 100 kilometres of range, and it’s good for 2.8 seconds.

For 2025, Audi is introducing the RS e-tron GT Performance. This is its flagship model now that production has ended for the exotic R8, and at a peak of 912 horsepower, it’s the most powerful production car Audi has ever built. It’s certainly more than its mechanically similar sibling, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, which creates 750 horsepower with overboost and launch control.

Let’s put that into perspective. One of the Audi’s lead engineers took me for a drive on a closed course to demonstrate the new active suspension. First though, at a standstill with a length of track ahead of us, he put one foot hard on the brake and the other foot hard on the throttle. This activated Launch Control, and when he took his foot off the brake, the car surged ahead and apparently hit 100 kilometres an hour in 3.1 seconds. He was apologetic – the track was still damp, and the car is capable of doing this in 2.5 seconds. We could have continued to 200 kilometres an hour in about seven seconds if there’d been enough track.

I thought I was going to black out. He asked if I’d like to try it for myself and I declined because I was still woozy. This is what all-electric production cars can do these days.

Tech specs

2025 Audi e-tron GT

• Base price: S e-tron GT: $150,000 (estimated), plus fees and taxes; RS e-tron GT: $210,000 (estimated), plus fees and taxes; RS e-tron GT Performance: $245,000 (estimated), plus fees and taxes
• Motor / battery: Two motors / 105-kilowatt-hour (97 kWh net)
• Horsepower / peak horsepower with launch control / torque: S e-tron GT: 583 / 670 / 546; RS e-tron GT: 670 / 844 / 660; RS e-tron GT Performance: 737 / 912 / 757
• Drive: All-wheel drive
• Power consumption / charging capacity: S e-tron GT: 19.7 – 18.0 kWh/100 km / 320 kw; RS e-tron GT: 21.1 – 18.4 kWh/100 km / 320 kw; RS e-tron GT Performance: 20.8 – 18.7 kWh/100 km / 320 kw
• Curb weight (kilograms): S e-tron GT: 2,310; RS e-tron GT: 2,320; RS e-tron GT Performance: 2,320
• Range (claimed, in kilometres): S e-tron GT: 609; RS e-tron GT: 599; RS e-tron GT Performance: 592
• Alternatives: Porsche Taycan, Tesla Model S, Lucid Air

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Looks

The car is slightly refreshed for 2025, although it still looks almost the same as the current model. Outside, the RS and RS Performance variants have their own front grille configurations and the option of a camouflage look to their bumpers, diffuser and side mirrors. It’s low, sleek, wide and very sexy for it.

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Interior

The e-tron GT is already smooth, quiet and comfortable. There’s a plethora of interior materials available, including leather-free and custom stitching. This is no different from other Audis, and other German brands. There’s space for three, but comfortable space for just two adults.

The e-tron GT does make a pleasant electronic noise inside the cabin that can be adjusted by the driver, and the Performance model has its own, sportier variant. It’s subtle and I didn’t really notice it, but there are separate sounds for inside and outside the vehicle.

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Performance

All those horsepower figures can be misleading. There are base figures for everyday driving, and then boosted figures for when you press the red “Push to Pass” button on the steering wheel, and even more when you activate launch control. The base horsepower for the Performance is 748, but this bumps to 842 for up to 10 seconds when you push that red button, and the full 912 comes on with launch control.

All three variants offer extra, short-term power for launch control, but only the RS and RS Performance models include the Push to Play – sorry, Push to Pass – red button with its extra 94 horsepower. All three have stronger driveshafts to handle the power, and bigger brakes with tungsten carbide-coated discs.

It’s one thing to go fast – and I can verify the RS is good for 250 kilometres an hour, thanks to Germany’s wonderful Autobahn – but it’s quite another to handle curves and road surfaces. All the new e-tron GTs now have a two-chamber, dual-valve air suspension as standard, with active and configurable suspension as an option.

Each wheel is individually adjusted with its own high-pressure pump to control compression and rebound, and can now be set to control the forward dip in hard braking, and can lean into corners by a couple of degrees. This is a comfort feature, not something for enhanced performance, and it’s very comfortable indeed. All-wheel steering is also an option.

Technology

The 105 kilowatt-hour battery is larger but also lighter, and it can charge at up to 320 kilowatts if you can find a charger fast enough to provide that. The maximum energy available through its own regenerative braking is boosted to 400 kilowatts. Audi says it will charge from 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes and can add 280 kilometres of range in 10 minutes. That’s impressive – if you can find a charger to provide that. Total range is estimated at about 600 kilometres by European (WLTP) standards, which means closer to 500 kilometres by North American standards.

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Cargo

There’s a 484-litre trunk and a small cargo area under the hood, which is competitive with other sedans.

The verdict

Sleek, sexy, better-looking than the Porsche Taycan, and just remarkable. The Audi e-tron GT is no bargain, but it’s one helluva car.

The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.

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