Audi’s R8 e-tron electric supercar may not be dead after all. Earlier this week prototypes of the car were spotted testing in Europe and now an example has even appeared in a television commercial.

The commercial is a bit of cross-promotion for Audi and its starring role in the third installment of the Iron Man movies, however, it does put the R8 e-tron back in the spotlight.

As we recently reported, Audi is back as the ride of choice of Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., in the upcoming movie Iron Man 3.

And, the Audi driven primarily by Stark, at least according to the previous trailers, is the R8 e-tron electric car. An S7 also features, though this is driven by Stark’s love interest, Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow.

Audi has been quiet about production plans for the R8 e-tron. The car was originally promised at the end of 2012, as a low-volume model, but all that changed last October when Audi’s newly-appointed head of R&D, Wolfgang Dürheimer, put the project on hold.

Word was that the project was shelved due to high battery costs, or possibly performance concerns when benchmarked against less expensive electric cars (like the Tesla Model S sedan).

The last we heard, Audi was working on some upgrades for the car, including improving aerodynamics and possibly dropping all-wheel drive for a rear-drive setup.

We’ll bring an update as soon as Audi comments on the matter.