Audi has confirmed plans for an electric super sedan to be called the e-tron Gran Turismo, or e-tron GT for short.
Audi made the confirmation during its annual press conference held Thursday in Ingolstadt, Germany.
The automaker also released a teaser shot that hints at a stunning fastback design for the e-tron GT, which will form part of the Audi Sport lineup when it arrives early next decade.
“We interpret sportiness very progressively with our fully electric e-tron GT, and this is how we will take our high-performance brand Audi Sport into the future,” Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said at the conference.
Production of the e-tron GT will be handled at the specialist Böllinger Höfe plant near Audi's main plant in Neckarsulm, Germany. It's where the automaker currently builds the R8 supercar. It's not clear yet if the two models will be built side-by-side, though we've heard that the R8 could be on its way out.
Former Audi Sport boss Stephan Winkelmann last August said the performance brand would launch an electric car in 2020 or 2021, and that it would either be a coupe-ish sedan or coupe-ish SUV. We're glad the automaker went with the former, because the world really doesn't need another SUV.
What isn't clear is which platform the e-tron GT will utilize. Given the similar shape and scope to the Porsche Mission E, there's a good chance Audi will borrow the J1 platform Porsche is developing for the Mission E. That would mean the e-tron GT could deliver upward of 600 horsepower and 15-minute charging made possible by an 800-volt charging capabilty.
Alternatives could be Audi using its MLB-based C-BEV platform debuting this year in the e-tron SUV, or the new PPE platform being developed by Audi and Porsche and due to spawn its first model in 2021.
Additional Audi electric cars we know are coming include the e-tron Sportback SUV, which will be built alongside the e-tron at Audi's plant in Brussels, Belgium, as well as two more electric SUVs to be built at Audi's Neckarsulm plant starting in 2021.
