Shropshire Star

Daily usability remains paramount on an Audi RS performance model, says firm

The German manufacturer was justifying an electric Audi being badged as an RS model.

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Audi e-tron GT

Audi has said that the need for its RS models to deliver maximum usability and performance remains as important as ever.

Speaking at the unveiling of the new Audi RS e-tron GT – the brand’s first electric car to wear an ‘RS’ badge – Sven Janssen, product marketing manager of the new model said the ultimate aim of the new model was to “create the perfect granturismo”.

He said: “With the Audi e-tron and RS e-tron GT, we want to create the perfect granturismo, a combination of high performance and daily usability, though of course the RS model has more focus on performance.”

Audi’s new e-tron GT is set to act as the brand’s electric flagship, with an ‘RS’ model being spawned as the ultimate range-topper. It shares underpinnings with the Porsche Taycan, with the RS model boasting 637bhp and enabling a 0-60mph time of 3.1 seconds – figures very close to those of Audi’s naturally-aspirated R8 supercar.

But despite the performance focus, Janssen said that practicality remains vital on an RS Audi, and this was behind making the ‘regular’ e-tron GT into an ‘RS’ model – in a similar vein to how an A4 becomes an RS4, for example.

Audi RS e-tron GT
The interior features a large central screen

Janssen said: “We had that unbelievable car [the e-tron GT] in front of us and we were talking about the top model in our portfolio.

“So the fact that the e-tron GT combines perfect daily usability with performance told us it had to be an RS model, as that’s what every Audi RS is, it doesn’t matter if it’s an RS3, RS4 or RS6, that’s what it has to be.”

The new Audi e-tron GT and sibling RS model are set to arrive in showrooms in the summer.

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