First Drive: 2024 Audi RS E-Tron GT in the UAE

The German luxury carmakers had a good thing going. They all had settled on a sensible naming system for their respective brands by the late 1990s, cleanly designating the size of the model as well as the engine. Cracks started appearing when they had to come up with names for their new-fangled turbo engines. And now with the advent of electric models, all logic has been thrown out the window. While BMW and Mercedes-Benz have especially struggled, at least we know that anything with “e-tron” in the name of an Audi means it’s electric. The “RS” and “GT” badges have been randomly thrown in for good measure, and therefore we have the Audi RS E-Tron GT, the brand’s own version of sister-company Porsche’s Taycan sports sedan.

The E-tron GT has all the design cues that clearly make it an Audi, but it may very well be their swoopiest car, with a very low flowing roofline and relatively-massive 21-inch wheels. The RS badge means we’re driving the fastest version of this car.

The Taycan and the E-Tron GT share absolutely no parts that are visible from the outside, and that includes the well-trimmed interior. The low dashboard features sharp cuts and lots of screens, with Audi’s fully digital virtual cockpit instrument cluster and a large 10.1-inch touchscreen on top of the centre console, angled towards the driver. Some controls, such as for the a/c, thankfully get their own physical buttons, all tilted toward the driver, and everything is within easy reach.

Being as long as a full-size sedan, the E-Tron GT fits four full-size adults perfectly fine, albeit with the ceiling very close to their scalps. A fifth passenger can squeeze into the back seat as well in an emergency. And the boot space is useful if not abundant, at 81 litres in the frunk and 405 litres in the trunk.

Powering the E-Tron GT is a 93.4-kWh lithium-ion battery mounted in the floor. Every e-tron GT has two electric motors, one on each axle. The base model makes 469 total hp (235 hp at the front axle and 429 hp at the rear) and 629 Nm of torque, rising to 522 hp and 640 Nm with launch-control overboost activated. Our top-spec RS version gets a more powerful rear-axle motor, bringing the total power to 590 hp and 830 Nm, with 637 hp available on overboost. All that is good for a claimed 0-100 kph time of 3.3 seconds, and the 2025 models are going to have even more power!

Obviously the E-Tron feels ridiculously fast, burying you into the seat as you bury the throttle pedal. The rear motor drives the wheels via a unique two-speed automatic gearbox with a low gear for acceleration and a high gear for highway cruising.

In Dynamic mode, the rear axle is locked into the first gear all the time and is best for accessing the avalanche of torque at an instant.

In Comfort mode, the gearbox largely sticks to the second gear and only downshifts to first with a proper stomp on the accelerator pedal. There is a mild delay when that shift happens, and it’s better to stick to Dynamic mode when you go explore some mountain twisties.

The claimed range is just under 400 km, which is good enough for 90% of your driving needs. Admittedly, Tesla still has it beat on that front.

The E-Tron also gets adaptive air suspension and rear-axle steering. The former makes the ride smooth enough on most surfaces, while the latter steers the rear wheels in the opposite direction of the front wheels below 50 kph for a tighter turning radius, and steers the rears in the same direction as the front wheels above 80 kph for high-speed stability. Between 50 and 80 kph, a computer decides what’s best, and if you’re caught in between during corner-carving, it can feel a bit unpredictable but still inherently stable. The “all-wheel-drive” chassis doesn’t allow an ounce of wheelspin or sideways action, unless maybe if you try forcing it into doing doughnuts.

At highway speeds, there is some wind and tyre noise, but never annoyingly high. The variable-ratio electrically-assisted steering is very responsive, with just enough weightage to feel good in fast driving, but it offers no feedback whatsoever. But the brakes are excellent, as they should be in a sports sedan weighing 2345 kg.

But whatever the specs say, the RS E-Tron GT is a compelling performance EV in its own right. It’s insanely fast, balances comfort and enthusiast expectations well, and looks good doing it.

Photos by Marouf Hussain Chowdhury.