Audi R8 e-tron is Unplugged

Last year at the Geneva Motor Show, Audi revealed the second-generation R8 e-tron. With a set of rear-mounted electric motors, the e-tron produced 456 horsepower and 679 pound-feet of torque. Only available as a rear-wheel drive model, the R8 e-tron could hit 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Audi was planning to start sales later in the year for an undisclosed amount. The R8 e-tron would surface two months later at CES Asia technology show in Shanghai. Afterwards, nothing came out.

Car and Driver donned their investigation hat and decided to find out what happened to the R8 e-tron. What they found out is that Audi had built a small number of R8 e-trons - "Fewer than 100" an Audi representative told them. But they have also pulled the plug on production.

Wait, they actually produced it?!

Yes. Despite it not being on Audi's website or any sales literature for it, you could go down to your Audi dealership in Europe (sorry, wasn't available in North America) and be referred to Audi's main office to place an order. The cost? About $1.1 million.

Why did Audi pull it?

You could make the argument that diesel emission mess that Audi's parent company, Volkswagen finds itself in kill it off to save money. But you could also look at an another electric sports car, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive. Introduced in 2013, Mercedes only sold a small number of these vehicles.

“We were too early,” said Mercedes-Benz three years on from this experiment. It could be Audi learned the same lesson as well.

Pic Credit: Newspress