The Audi R8 E-Tron Is No More

You get the sense Audi was always a little reluctant to make a production R8 E-Tron. The company deliberated for a good few years, with the status of the project flip-flopping in the sort of on-again-off-again fashion we’ve not seen since Ross and Rachel. And after finally putting the E-Tron into production in 2015, Audi has already killed it off.

Car and Driver reports that the second-gen R8-based electric supercar has been shelved for an undisclosed reason, and while Audi refused to provide a specific production number, a spokesperson did tell the publication that “fewer than 100” were built.

It’s a curious move when VW Group is heavily pushing electric vehicles in the wake of the Dieselgate emissions fixing scandal, but the E-Tron’s astronomical price might have something to do with it. According to Car and Driver, each of the few E-Trons sold cost their owners a cool €1 million.

Audi also said at the time of the car’s Geneva 2015 launch that the car was intended as a “rolling laboratory” to help develop future electric cars, so it might be that the pricey E-Tron had simply outlived its usefulness.

The 100-ish E-Tron buyers got themselves an electric supercar capable of hitting 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, thanks to a powertrain putting out 456bhp and 678lb ft of torque. It’s actually the only rear-wheel drive road-going production R8 ever made by Audi, and has a 276-mile range.
Update
We’ve since been sent the following statement from Audi UK regarding the E-Tron’s demise:

“Audi presented the second generation R8 e-tron at the Geneva Auto Show in March 2015. The R8 e-tron is for us a key technology pioneer for the development of the first Audi BEV in series production. We have added the Audi R8 e-tron to our lineup as a hand-built, built-to-order sports car.

Due to enormous interest in the Audi e-tron quattro concept we presented at the Frankfurt Auto Show, all of our BEV competencies are now focused on the development and market introduction of this electrically powered high-volume production SUV.

Vehicles will be delivered over the course of 2016 for all orders already accepted for the R8 e-tron. Additional orders are not being taken. In 2018 Audi will bring a BEV to market.”

So there we have it - focusing on an electric SUV that will actually sell in decent numbers is more of a priority than a supercar for the super-rich. Understandable, but hopefully an all-electric R8 will return at some point. With the general move of the industry towards electrification, it seems inevitable.