Even though it played a role in the new Iron Man 3 movie, Audi has announced that the R8 e-tron won’t go on sale after all, citing a lack of battery technology as the main reason.
The electric supercar, which recorded an impressive time of 8:09.099 minutes at the Nurburgring, simply cannot achieve the type of range to justify its mass production, so Audi’s current fleet of ten vehicles will remain in service purely for testing and development purposes with future road cars, such as the A3 Sportback e-tron, benefitting from its creation.
A 49 KWh lithium-ion battery feeds electric motors generating a total output of 230 kW (308 hp) and 820 Nm of torque, with around 490 Nm transferred to the rear wheels from a near-standing start. At 1,780 kg it’s 220 kg heavier than the R8 V8, but performance is still impressive, with 100 km/h (62 mph) happening in just 4.6 seconds, while top speed is governed to 200 km/h (124 mph).
[Source: Autocar]