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Audi has revealed this all-electric 'performance sports car of tomorrow', called the PB18 e-tron, at the Monterey Car Week in Pebble Beach, California.
It's the first time Audi has presented a design and technical concept car at this particular event, demonstrating how much the Pebble Beach show has grown in status in the automotive world during recent years.
Audi Sport GmbH was responsible for developing the PB18 e-tron, using Audi's success at the Le Mans 24 Hour race as inspiration for the car. But its bodywork was designed by the Audi Design Studio in Malibu, with its shape supposedly honed by the wind tunnel and potential use on a race track.
Much of the design work is shared with the Aicon concept from 2017, such as the inwards-angled side windows and the bulging wheel arches. But while the Aicon was devised as a long-distance luxury vehicle, the PB18 e-tron was conceived as a pure driving machine, for both road and track.
Perhaps the cleverest thing about the PB18 e-tron is its passenger compartment. There are no autonomous driving systems here, and there are no comfort features either, the stripping of all this complex technology designed to reduce the Audi's weight.
Instead, a driver's seat and cockpit are integrated into an inner monocoque shell, allowing the driver to sit centrally in a single-seater configuration when the car is on track. However, on road, the driver's seat can be slid laterally, allowing room for another passenger. This is possible because both the steering and pedals are controlled 'by wire', meaning no physical connection is required to their respective components, which would 'lock' them in place in the cabin.
Gael Buzyn, head of the Audi Design Studio in Malibu, said: "We want to offer the driver an experience that is otherwise available only in a racing car like the Audi R18. That's why we developed the interior around the ideal driver's position in the centre. Nevertheless, our aim was to also give the PB18 e-tron a high degree of everyday usability, not just for the driver, but also for a potential passenger."
The Audi's battery pack is mounted centrally and behind the passenger compartment, making the PB18 e-tron feel like it is mid-engined, even though it doesn't have an engine (per se). The total weight of the car is less than 1,550kg, which helps its three electric motors - one up front, two at the rear - make the most of their outputs of 150kW (front) and 350kW (rear). That means the PB18 nominally runs 680hp, with 775hp available on a limited 'boost' function, while the torque of 830Nm helps the quattro four-wheel-drive PB18 do 0-100km/h in little more than two seconds; making it almost as quick as an LMP1 Le Mans racer.
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Audi further says the PB18 e-tron has a 95kWh battery, allowing for a range of more than 500km. Designed for charging with up to 800 volts, it means the PB18 can be fully recharged in as little as a quarter of an hour... and it's also capable of inductive charging, thanks to the Audi Wireless Charging system. The suspension of the car takes from Audi's R18 e-tron quattro Le Mans competition car, so there's independent suspension front and rear on lower and upper transverse control arms, with a push-rod front-axle system and a pull-rod rear axle set-up, complemented by adaptive magnetic ride shock absorbers. The PB18 e-tron rolls on 22-inch wheels, fitted with 275/35 front and 315/30 rear tyres, while its 19-inch brake discs are made of carbon ceramic.