The 2022 e-tron GT Marks Its Arrival with a Refined Bang

Dauntingly quick, yet hauntingly quiet. Muscular and articulated, yet sleek and rounded. Ultra modern, yet timeless in design. The Audi e-tron GT is a culmination of contradictions that yields one of the most balanced machines ever released.

The early skeptics of the electric vehicle era assailed manufacturers with the all-too-human inquiry of, "how much power can an EV truly make and will it ever be faster than my combustion motor?" To this day marketing departments maintain the instinctive practice of headlining hybrid and electric car brochures with claimed speed ratings. Since the 'Tesla Insane Mode Reaction Videos' went viral on YouTube we have grown accustomed to the firm truth that EV motors are in fact very fast. Despite this jaded perspective, the release of the Audi e-tron GT (along with its sibling the Porsche Taycan) has sent shockwaves throughout the global auto scene.

Remaining true to form, let's cover the performance statistics at the very onset. With the benefit of all wheel drive ensuring easy tire hook ups, the base GT is capable of 523 horsepower, finding 62 mph in 4.1 seconds. The RS variant nets 590 horsepower with a "boost mode" releasing up to 657 horsepower, making 0-60 mph possible in 3.1 seconds!

Launching one is literally whiplash inducing. The first time I gave the GT a proper start from a standing position my head bounced off of the ergonomic headrest. For the second launch I kept flush against the seat and was greeted instead with a stomach-in-throat somersault sensation.

It is important that I risk contradiction by being careful in not portraying the power delivery as a binary, slingshot-like experience found in other EV models. There are no twitchy lurches forward when tapping the accelerator, or jerky deceleration when coming off of the pedal. The system is highly intuitive. At the expense of a slight delay the car seems to read and respond predictably to each hesitancy and impulse relayed by the driver's right foot. The e-tron GT is a refined, well-mannered, tour de force.

With a sticker price just shy of $100,000 USD and the official designation as a luxury vehicle it should feel refined - and it delivers on that promise. This is a car you can gladly commute in, because it is distinctly and unapologetically Audi. While some modern minimalist design touches have crept in, the interior is immediately recognizable to an Audi driver, making it welcomingly familiar. No comforts have been spared. The aeronautically-shaped seats with geometric panels are heated with plenty of motorized adjustments, leaving the back bench passengers with ample leg room. The sleek, tapered body lines cleverly disguise just how much space is available inside of the cabin. A six-layer panorama glass roof further enhances the sensation of openness, somehow always permitting the perfect amount of light to pass through. With an estimated battery range of 239 miles, trips lasting several hours are feasible, which in turn make the lane departure / driving assistance features most welcome.

Stepping out and away from the e-tron GT, the urge to look back at the car is irrepressible. I found myself circling the exterior several times, attempting to form a concrete opinion of the design features. Initially the front end struck me as a bit pedestrian and well within the play-it-safe motif seemingly intrinsic to EV aesthetics. After a moment the details fell into place and an appreciation for the humble architecture grew. The Four-Ring logo rests on a three-dimensional pyramidical plane, a fresh interpretation of the iconic honeycomb radiator grille. Finned lateral inlets are cleaved into either side of the bumper, passing air through the wheel wells and along concave door panels. These channels are attractive and highly functional, being crucial to the car's aerodynamics and thus the battery range.

Standing aft of the sedan is where some Porsche DNA is most visible. The round tail gives way to wide haunches, bisected by the continuous LED light bar. It isn't difficult to perceive a familial resemblance to its cousin the Taycan. The e-tron GT does break form with some entirely original touches, such as the flared and striped brake lights, and an uncharacteristically overstated diffuser. Another instance in which Audi was quite bold is the staggering of the wheel sizes: the 245mm front tires mount to 9-inch wide wheels while the 285mm rear tires cover visibly massive 11-inch wheels. Despite such a sturdy setup, the all-wheel powertrain elicits maneuverability that eclipses all expectation.

During a spirited test drive the e-tron GT climbed and twisted its way to the top of a narrow parking garage with feline agility. While the car’s length can be perceived from the driver's seat, it vanishes with each nimble turn. This is most comparable to the RS 7 - which is logical given that only one inch separates their wheelbase, with the GT being the shorter of the two. While much can be said for the weight of the car - and not all of it positive - the battery-pack does force the floorboard downward, eliminating nearly all pitching while under heavy turning.

Some personal bias must be mentioned: I have spent my career working with vintage and air-cooled motors and only half of the vehicles I've ever owned were modern enough for fuel-injection. Naturally, I’ve eyed the emergence of EVs with a moderate suspicion. Despite knowing they may be a necessary component in automotive evolution, I was still unable to feel an emotional draw to them conceptually. Having driven the e-tron GT I no longer fear the potential of an electric future. Along the initial drive something clicked and my appreciation for the car began to swell. In hindsight, I blame the artificial engine sound as the primary trigger. Engineered from no less than 32 audio samples, some recordings being as simple and crude as a fan placed against a plastic tube, the final product walks the line between whale song and the ominous drone of a Hans Zimmer score. It lulls you in and saturates the drive in a deeply personal ambiance.

While trying not to draw any sweeping conclusions about electric vehicles, I will admit that Audi’s latest revelation has cemented a perspective I've agreed with for some time: it is better to drive a technological vehicle from a true auto manufacturer, than to drive an automobile made by a technology manufacturer. I imagine this opinion will continue to catch fire as Audi blazes forward on the back of this unapologetically vocal declaration of their arrival into the electric supercar scene.