The arrival of the Audi PB18 E-Tron has opened the floodgates on surrounding the R8’s future. The latest whispers indicate that while the R8 will not return for a third generation, the name will soldier on as part of an all-electric supercar that will have as much as 1,000 horsepower at its disposal. There’s no timetable for the electric supercar’s release as the current R8 is just about to start its mid-cycle refresh. If the R8 E-Tron happens “again,” it’s unlikely to arrive at least until the next decade, possibly around 2022.
From what we’ve gathered, an all-electric Audi supercar is certain. It’s not a matter of “if” it’s going to be built as it is “when” it’s going to be built. Still, details are still murky at this point to create a concrete idea of what we can expect. Turns out, though, Autocar is hearing Audi’s future electric supercar will go by a name that a lot of us are already familiar with: R8 E-Tron.
For those who aren’t familiar with the R8 E-Tron’s history, the name has already been used twice by Audi, once on a concept that never made it to production and another on a version of the second- and current-generation Audi R8 that Audi eventually discontinued after fewer than 100 units were delivered to its owners. So the “R8 E-Tron” has a checkered history, but, according to Autocar, that’s not stopping Audi from using it again.
This time, Audi’s reportedly packaging the R8 E-Tron as an all-electric hypercar that will take inspiration from the PB18 E-Tron that Audi unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance last month. More importantly, it’s going to raise the bar relative to its touted power numbers of the shooting brake supercar concept.
Granted, these whispers are still subject to a lot of changes. Take them with a grain of salt. We do know that Audi is planning an all-electric supercar. We can start there and flesh out any concrete details as we get them.
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Read our full review on the 2018 Audi PB18 e-tron Concept.
Read our full review on the 2016 Audi R8 E-tron.
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