An Audi Bombshell: The New E-Tron

This year’s North American International Auto Show has already proven itself to be a candyland of green racers. Carmakers from Ford to BMW are displaying their latest fuel saving or skipping hardware, and most of them look like they would be more than capable on our favorite track. The star of the show has to be Audi’s latest take on its E-Tron EV. The company unveiled an electric version of the mid-engine R8 supercar in Frankfurt last year, wooing the motoring press with a 3,000 lb-ft torque figure. That turned out to be more like 500 lb-ft, but who cares? The car was all-electric and all-sexy.

The E-Tron that showed up in Detroit is a different beast all together. Instead carrying the majority of the car’s weight mid-ship like the first E-Tron, the Motor City’s version is designed to handle more like a front-engine rear-wheel drive beastie. Audi says it’s managed to get the car’s weight down to a manageable 2,976 lbs – not light by anyone’s standards, but not the chubbiest kid on the dodge ball team, either. Power comes from two electric motors, good for a combined 204 horsepower and, according to Audi, 1,955 lb-ft of torque. We’re guessing that, like the first E-Tron, that figure comes at the wheels and in the final gear. In all reality, torque from the two motors likely sits in the neighborhood of a more believable 350-400 lb-ft.

Lithium-ion batteries give the car a range of around 155 miles, though a standard 220v household socket will top off the packs in 11 hours. Yikes. The good news is all that power makes this EV pretty quick. The run to 60 mph takes around 5.9 seconds. Not too shabby.

Now here’s the real stunner – Audi has already said this thing is headed toward production, and fast. The first models should hit showrooms as soon as late 2012, and analysts believe the car will show up as the much whispered about R4. We can’t wait.