We thought it was dead and now it's back. Management at Audi HQ in Ingolstadt has reversed its decision to kill off the R8 e-tron. The zero-emission R8 supercar will get the green light, after all. We understand the decision was taken after improvements to the battery range of the e-tron were developed.
The car is set for a production kick-off in the second half of 2014. But behind the scenes in Audi, a new head of engineering, Ulrich Hackenberg, has taken charge. Previously the supercar had a range that was limited to 215km. However, with successful engineering improvements during 2013, it now extends up to nearly double that, to 400km. Audi claims this advancement in the production of its lithium-ion battery technology helped revive the car once more.
Exterior
From what we know, the R8 e-tron will share the styling of the second-generation R8. In fact, the e-tron development was originally planned around the next R8 and weighs in at 1,780kg.
Mechanicals
The performance numbers are, not surprisingly, impressive for the zero-emissions supercar. The e-tron packs 381hp with 820Nm of torque from a pair of electric motors driving the rear wheels. It is claimed to reached 100km/h from rest in 4.0 seconds, with a limited top speed of 200km/h.
Anything else?
There's no news on a price as yet. But expect it to be the most expensive model in the R8 line-up.