Audi Promises New e-tron GT Concept For LA

The electric "supercar" concept will probably have four (or five) doors

Audi has a raft of new products to show us at the LA Auto Show this year. And most of them are vehicles we've seen. But it does have one trick up its sleeve, and from what little we know, it looks like it could steal the show.

The German automaker says it will unveil a new e-tron GT concept at the Californian expo next week. And though it hasn't released much in the way of actual details, it does refer to the show car as a “fully electric supercar concept” that will bring electrification to the Audi Sport lineup for the first time.

The term “supercar” typically refers to a two-door coupe or convertible. And we won't be surprised if that's the form the concept ultimately takes. But from everything we've seen so far, we've come to expect a sedan (or four-door coupe), borrowing its underpinnings from sister-brand Porsche's forthcoming Taycan and previewed by the above teaser image released this past summer.

In addition to the new e-tron crossover, Audi has applied the handle to a succession of concepts in recent years – including the e-tron Sportback concept revealed in Shanghai last year, and the e-tron Vision Gran Turismo racer designed for the popular PlayStation game.

Ingolstadt also showed the PB18 e-tron concept earlier this year up the coast in Monterey, and did a couple of R8 e-tron concepts that applied electric powertrains to its mid-engined supercar. Whatever the shape the new concept takes, it'll be joined on Audi's show stand by the new A6, A7, A8, Q8, and the aforementioned e-tron crossover – all of which are fresh for the 2019 model year and are now reaching dealers. So we don't expect any surprises there, but the new e-tron GT ought to attract its share of attention when it's revealed next Wednesday, November 28, at 1:05 pm Pacific time.

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2020 Audi e-tron GT Will Directly Inherit Some Porsche Taycan DNA

Corporate cousins but with different attitudes, but still all about power.

We learned a few months ago that Audi’s second all-electric vehicle will be a large sedan called the e-tron GT. Audi may have just revealed its 2019 e-tron SUV, but it’s wasting no time with its second offering, a direct competitor to the Tesla Model S and, in a way, the also not yet revealed Porsche Taycan. Thing is, both the Taycan and e-tron GT will have something in common: genes.

According to Autocar, the e-tron GT will ride on the same J1 platform as the Taycan, which makes sense because both brands fall under the VW Group umbrella. Audi’s technical development chief Ulrich Widmann has confirmed the e-tron GT will “get some genes from Porsche and a lot of Audi genes.”

But unlike the e-tron SUV, the e-tron GT will have one significant difference, apart from body style: the GT is slated to be Audi’s first electric vehicle to get a ‘flat-floor solution’ instead of the ‘high-floor solutions’ utilized with the e-tron SUV and also upcoming e-tron Sportback. Another big difference from the SUVs is that the GT will be capable of 350kW fast charging. In other words, it’ll be able to charge up to 80 percent of its battery in only 12 minutes, or less. It's all about power.

While the e-tron SUV has been designed to be a comfortable and extremely capable daily driver with the typical Audi driving feel and appeal, the e-tron GT is being described as “highly dynamic” with a greater focus on performance driving.

To us, that description sounds an awful lot like what the Taycan will be all about, but then again Porsche and Audi have already managed to carve out unique driving and performance personalities for themselves. It makes sense for this carry over to the upcoming EVs. And speaking of EVs, don’t think for a moment that the e-Tron SUV, Sportback, and GT will be Audi’s only EVs. Quite the opposite. By 2025, the German automaker plans to have at least 10 EVs on the road.

As was done with Tesla, high-end models will arrive first and then more affordable and likely smaller EVs will arrive. We’ll be getting a clearer preview of the Audi e-tron GT at the LA Auto Show late next month where it’s expected to be previewed in concept form.

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