Audi has finally and officially taken the wraps off of its upcoming E-Tron all-electric sports car. With a little help from Robert Downey Jr.—whose Iron Man has been a poster boy for both Audi and clean energy—the unveiling showed off the culmination of Audi’s search for future performance and innovation.
The E-Tron had its specs outlined even though it is, ostensibly, a concept car. If it makes it to streets some time in 2020 as planned with the proposed 590hp, 149mph top speed and 2.5 second 0-60, it’ll certainly be worth following its journey from the LA Auto Show to roads everywhere.
The body, similar to Audi’s current iteration of the A7 fastback sedan, sets E-Tron apart with a teched-out twist on the signature Audi grille, some mean looking LED lights, and blade-like rims.
Audi is touting a somewhat ho-hum 250 mile range. The kicker is that the E-Tron can pick up 80% of its charge—roughly 200 miles—in about twenty minutes. This is a significant upgrade over the current king of EV sedans, the Tesla Model S, which has similar range and performance benchmarks but older battery tech.
Audi is also planning to trot out a competing wireless charging for the E-Tron, an innovation that would bring that standard to their wider lineup—which will include 12 all-electric models by the year 2025.
The E-Tron shares much of its electric DNA with the upcoming Porsche Taycan, since both Audi and Porsche are under the Volkswagen umbrella. With other all-electric vehicles coming out in almost every class, like the Rivian trucks and the just-announced new Lincoln Aviator, there’s no doubt that Audi is looking to lead in the space with the E-Tron—and with everything that’s set to follow in its footsteps.