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• Virtuality turns into reality
• All-electric concept car to be used as race taxi in Formula E
• Audi’s Chief Development Officer Peter Mertens: “E-mobility is rapidly gaining importance”
Ingolstadt - With the fully electric “Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo” concept car Audi is now turning electric mobility into a tangible experience in a unique way. Originally developed exclusively for virtual races on PlayStation 4, Audi is making the new race car reality in conjunction with Formula E.
Starting with the race in Rome on Saturday, April 14, the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo will be deployed as a race taxi.
Debut at Rome GP
“E-Mobility is rapidly gaining importance,” says Peter Mertens, Member of the Board of Management, Technical Development, AUDI AG. “That is why in 2017 Audi was the first German manufacturer to enter Formula E with a factory-backed commitment.
Audi customers and guests of the brand will be able to experience Formula E’s city circuits as passengers in the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo starting at the race in Rome (April 14).
Employees at Audi’s pre-production center developed and produced this one-of-a-kind car within the space of just eleven months based on the example of the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo from the “Gran Turismo” PlayStation game. The million-selling “Gran Turismo” game has long acquired cult status with gamers around the globe.
The automaker has been working together with Sony and Polyphony Digital – the creators of “Gran Turismo” – for nearly 20 years. Audi designers created the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo for the “Vision Gran Turismo” competition that was launched on the market on the occasion of the popular game’s 15th anniversary.
Many of these concept cars were subsequently built as full-scale models as well and presented at trade shows. The Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo, however, is the first concept car of this range to be deployed to real-world race tracks as a fully functional vehicle.
The German automaker's aim was a fully functional car. The e-tronVision Gran Turismo shows that electric mobility at Audi is very emotive. Audi says it incorporates numerous elements of our new design language such as the inverted single frame in the vehicle’s color that will be typical for our new e-tronmodels.”
Audi says they deliberately took up design elements and the color of the legendary Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO with which the company in 1989 thrilled motorsport fans in the North American IMSA-GTO racing series.
Quattro standard... obviously
The Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo has permanent all-wheel drive as well, the fully electric e-tron quattro all-wheel drive with variable power distribution. Three electric motors, each with output of 200kW, propel the concept car. Two electric motors drive the rear axle and the third one the front axle, using individual components from the future Audi e-tron.
System output is 600kW. With a curb weight of 1450kg the electric race car has a power to weight ratio of 1.78 kilograms per horsepower with ideal 50:50% weight distribution between the front and the rear axle. The Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in less than 2.5 seconds.
The futuristic race taxi will be deployed at all European Formula E races and numerous other events in 2018. At the wheel will be former DTM driver Rahel Frey from Switzerland or Le Mans winner Dindo Capello from Italy.
