Yahoo Autos We Drive the 804-HP Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo, a PS4 Exotic
The Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo is one of the most spectacular sports cars to be shown this year, a pure fantasy that had its roots as a project for the Gran Turismo 6 racing game for the Sony PlayStation console. The concept was initially a digital-only creation that joined similarly extreme designs from many other automakers, all devised in response to Sony’s invitation to join its Vision Gran Turismo (VGT) project marking the series’ 15th anniversary in 2013. While many of the resulting concepts have been built as full-size models for presentation at auto shows, Audi is among the few to build a real, fully drivable version of its concept-Bugatti also built and sold a single example of its car-and this has in turn spawned a new version for the current Gran Turismo Sport edition of the game.
The real-world, all-electric e-tron VGT will serve as a “race taxi” to perform exhibition runs at races in the Formula E racing series, where VIPs will get to ride along with experienced racing drivers. (The car also will be showcased at events like the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the Goodwood Festival of Speed.) Recently, we were among a lucky few invited to take the wheel of the two-seater. It was designed by Andreas Krüger and features Quattro-inspired fender flares and typical design cues from the firm’s e-tron electrified cars, including segmented LED lights and a body-color grille insert. Don’t mistake this for a next-generation version of the R8 sports car. Without the rear wing, this e-tron VGT is 187.4 inches long, 46.1 inches high, and 78.0 inches wide-those dimensions are dream-car extreme, more than a foot longer and 2.7 inches lower than the production R8, and it has a seating position so low that production in this form would be a challenge. (Though, it must be said, not an insurmountable one, given the evidence of the even lower Ford GT, which is as long as the Audi and wider, too.) Regardless, the one-off Audi e-tron VGT is more a singular sports-prototype racing car than it is a machine built for road use.
Better to Drive than Any Game
The impression of a racing prototype is confirmed when you sit behind the wheel. You have to swing your posterior over a wide sill into the driver’s seat, a process that is considerably easier when the square racing steering wheel is removed via a quick-release collar. The tight seats provide extreme lateral support; instead of a stylish cockpit and dash as seen in the game’s digital rendition of the car, there is a race car’s typical stripped interior, roll cage, and tiny screen. The power steering is activated by a toggle switch, and drive is engaged via a push button.
Stepping on the accelerator bravely, we experienced catapult-like acceleration: The sprint from zero to 62 mph takes less than 2.5 seconds, and 125 mph flashes by only six seconds later by Audi’s measures. We lifted at around 115 mph, a velocity we reached in a flash on the short straight of the Audi test track in Neuburg an der Donau. Time to get onto the brutally effective carbon-fiber brakes. We turn into the 180-degree bend and get on the accelerator early; the rear twitches, and all-wheel drive helps it claw through the corner. The huge wing and totally flat underbody work together to create downforce.
There is no sound from the drive motors except for a distant whir; the power-steering system is actually louder than the drivetrain, and there is the occasional clunk heard from the chassis. This, after all, is a hand-built, one-off prototype. That said, it is remarkably refined and polished. The enormous output of 804 horsepower comes courtesy of three 268-hp electric motors borrowed from upcoming e-tron production models. Two of these drive the rear axle while the third directs its torque to the front wheels. They are fed by a total of four liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery packs, two of which are mounted in the rear and two in the passenger-side footwell. The charging socket is a piece pinched from the short-lived R8 e-tron.
Custom Construction
The e-tron Vision Gran Turismo is built on a tubular frame, and the body is made entirely of carbon fiber. The chassis height and suspension camber are adjustable, and the car is fitted with Pirelli P Zero GT3 racing slicks, size 325/705-18, that are mounted on 18-inch OZ Racing wheels. The windows are made of extremely light polycarbonate.
The lightweight build results in a stated curb weight of 3197 pounds despite the heavy batteries. The project was developed quickly and on an unusually tight budget; although the first drawings were made several years ago, the final design did not reach the project team until April 2017. Subsequently, the e-tron Vision Gran Turismo was constructed in Germany in record time under project leader Christian Koch, with some of the work done at Audi HQ in Ingolstadt and the rest at the Audi Sport facility in Neckarsulm.
Originally, the Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo was not an all-electric car. In the Gran Turismo game, there is still the original hybrid version claiming a combined 1274 horsepower from a turbocharged 3.4-liter V-6 driving the rear axle and an electric motor for the front wheels. May we drive that one, too, Audi?
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