Audi e-tron quattro unveiled!

Audi finally took the wraps off of one of the most anticipated all new cars of 2018. We will have lots more on this car in the coming days, and Audi’s official press release is published already if you haven’t already seen it. Audi were keen to throw a heck of a party to show the world their first ever fully electric production road car, and what a party it was!

In the historic Craneway Pavilion across the bay from San Francisco, we did have the chance to put our hands on the car, and can tell you that the interior is absolutely 100% Audi in every way. Though it was very dark and crowded in the event hall, and our time with the car was all too brief, we loved what we saw. Of note, the back seating area was massive, as was the front seating area. It also appears to have plenty of cargo room. This is a very roomy car. As well, throughout the interior the e-tron quattro makes use of the latest and greatest Audi interior technology available. Everything inside is perfectly executed, as we’ve come to expect from Audi.

Part of the e-tron quattro unveiling was a very comprehensive Technology Park, which housed a huge collection of Audi’s latest e-tron related concept cars, formula E car, and displays showcasing the various components that make up the e-tron quattro. Here we were able to lay fingers and eyes on a variety of items, view technical demonstrations and more. Did we mention concept cars? Yep, the PB18 was there, as was the AICON. Both were staggeringly beautiful in their own right. Though we were aware that we were there ultimately to see the e-tron quattro, having a chance to see the incredible concepts on display shows how serious Audi is about creating buzz, or dare we say, electricity around their new e-tron platforms.

Audi was keen to point out some very important features of the e-tron quattro. First was safety. The massive battery pack is designed with safety in mind. It has significant cooling systems built in, and in the event of a crash, the battery is designed to allow leaking fluids to exit via the bottom of the battery pack. Next was regeneration. The e-tron quattro has very a sophisticated regeneration system, which all but renders the wheel brakes obsolete. Upon depressing the brake pedal, in all but panic stops the e-tron uses the motors in reverse (as generators) to re-capture kinetic energy into the battery. Perhaps not the first EV to use this technology, Audi does it in such a way that it us unobtrusive to the driver, and allows tremendous amounts of “engine braking”. See the press release where Audi took some e-tron hybrids down Pike’s Peak.

Audi will offer this car starting around $75,000 extremely well configured, which we think is a good price all things considered.

We’re looking forward to getting our hands on the e-tron quattro. To us, this is a great way for Audi to go given the inevitable deviation from fossil fueled cars in the future.