All-Electric Audi R8 E-Tron Has Been Quietly Discontinued Again
Audi’s all-electric R8 has been discontinued once again.
After being an on-again, off-again project for at least six years, the German automaker showed off the production R8 e-tron at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Based on the second-generation Audi R8, the e-tron production model features an all-electric powertrain with 456 horsepower and 679 pound-feet of torque, allowing it to travel 280 miles on a single charge while going zero-to-62 mph (zero-to-100 km/h) in just 3.9 seconds.
SEE ALSO: Audi R8 e-tron Looks Stunning in Blue on the Nurburgring
But after being on display at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, the R8 e-tron made another appearance at the CES Asia show in Shanghai before it quietly fell out of the spotlight. Priced at around $1.1-million, the R8 e-tron was only available in Europe and, according to an Audi representative speaking to Car and Driver, it appears less than 100 units were built. “We could have built more than we did,” the representative said. Considering that a regular R8 costs around $163,000, the $1.1-million price tag was probably too high for the car to be a success.
The story is vaguely similar to the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive that headed to market with a four-motor setup churning 740 hp. Priced at around $385,000, that model didn’t fare too well on the market either, selling less than 100 units.
[Source: Car and Driver]
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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The timing is not right for an all electric supercar/sports car that sits in a line up of other engined models. The Tesla roadster was only built in limited numbers and for a limited time too. The buyers of this segment are limited anyway (supercar/sports car for various reasons - practicality/cost etc) and the electric / hybrid etron has an even narrower audience within that segment and generally. Owners of this car type / buyers of this car type are likely to, if wanting electric, have a tesla S etc in their garage and/or maybe a form of hybrid - and those that buy all electric (tesla S as main car) are not the types that buy an electric supercar (they may buy a sports car but highly likely not electric) The time will arrive in future. We are just not there yet