Audi e-tron GT customers already prefer the RS version of the rocket ship

The order situation for the Audi e-tron GT, the brand’s most powerful production car of all time, is already tending towards the hottest RS variant.

Although the RS e-tron GT is priced at $248,200 before road costs, or $68,000 more than the base e-tron GT, more customers have ordered it than its lower-priced counterpart.

“This comes as no real surprise to us, given that Australia is the sixth largest market for Audi’s high-performance RS models in the world,” said Jeff Mannering, CEO of Audi Australia.

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“If you look at the orders around our entire dealer network in Australia, our e-tron GT orders are actually quite strong and we are very happy with them.

“If you say that, you could always fill a 100 percent quota, but we didn’t have the car, people didn’t see it, touch it, let alone drive it, or put it against a direct competitor or a common platform car.”

“We actually did that in Korea. We use both [the e-tron GT and related Porsche Taycan] Side by side to show people the different approaches to design on the same platform. The e-tron GT is basically a different car tuned as a grand tourer, while the Porsche is a sports car.”

Audi design chief Marc Lichte describes the e-tron GT as the most beautiful car he has ever designed. It sits even lower than the Autobahn-smashing RS7, one of the world’s fastest four-door sedans, while also boasting some of the widest wheel arches ever seen on an Audi road car.

The Audi e-tron GT shares its J1 platform with the Taycan and, as the RS flagship, features a twin-engine all-wheel drivetrain.

In boost mode, with a two-speed gearbox like the Taycan, it develops a whopping 475 kW of power and 830 Nm of torque to all four wheels.

These outputs are 85 kW and 200 Nm higher for the standard e-tron GT.

The RS accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in a breathtaking 3.3 seconds, while it takes just 11.8 seconds to reach 200 km/h.

Like the Porsche, it uses a 93.4 kWh battery with an 800 V electrical architecture and can be charged at up to 270 kW on a DC charger, giving the e-tron GT a stated maximum range of 504 km (NEDC ) with a charging time of 22.5 minutes gives if from five percent to 80 percent battery capacity.

Matthew Dale, Audi’s head of product strategy, told CarExpert that the e-tron GT is also about advancing what the Audi brand stands for.

“It’s about technologies like quattro and the handling of the car – it has to feel like an Audi and that’s what our customers expect,” said Mr. Dale.

“Things like synchronous motors with reproducible performance. This is progress that Audi is showing in its electric vehicle technology, which is familiar from the Audi brand and also from our customers.

“They want the car to be responsive, they want the car to feel like an Audi, with a high level of mechanical grip through the quattro system, and it’s these technologies that will continue to evolve in Audi’s future vehicles become.”

Mr Mannering also cited the Audi ownership experience as important for the e-tron GT buyer, who not only gets a free standard home wall charger, but also benefits from six years of free top-ups, scheduled maintenance and roadside assistance as part of the package.

While Audi only offers two e-tron GT variants on the road, priced at $180,200 and $248,200 respectively, Porsche has seven Taycan variants on offer in Australia.

The base rear-wheel-drive Taycan starts at $158,100 pre-road, while the range ends at $351,000 pre-road for the Turbo S.

MORE: Everything about the Audi e-tron GT