Audi’s all-new electric SUV, the e-tron, has finally been confirmed for its global unveiling, which will take place on September 17th in San Francisco. This comes after the initial launch of the Tesla Model X competitor was delayed indefinitely due to the untimely arrest of Audi CEO Rupert Stadler on June 18th, days before the e-tron was supposed to be shown to the world. But with a new CEO incoming and the Audi ship righted, it’s finally time for the company to show to the world the next chapter in its ongoing story.
In conjunction with the global reveal, Audi will release full details of the new e-tron including pricing & specifications on their US website. Further, prospective buyers of the e-tron will be able to place a fully-refundable US$1000 deposit on a new car, and be able to configure and reserve their vehicle within minutes of the e-tron’s debut. From there, they’ll be afforded the ability to ‘track’ their car’s status online to see how far along it is, though further details will be provided at the launch event in San Francisco.
With 400km of range on offer per full charge, the e-tron aims to not only be a great urban companion, but also one that you can take long-distance without getting too anxious about range. The E-tron is purportedly capable of handling charge rates of as much as 150kW, which Audi says will allow the car to cover “the next long-stage of its journey” with as little as 30-minutes recharging at that rate.
With some 2928mm between the wheels, the e-tron is definitely not a small car, and sits nicely alongside other electric SUVs like the aforementioned Tesla and Jaguar’s new I-Pace. The e-tron is expected to provide generous amounts of space for its 5-occupants, as well as the luggage that might go with it. In fact, Audi claims that the e-tron provides best-in-class cabin length, headroom (in both rows) and rear kneeroom.
As is now the norm with Audis, there are screens all over the dash. There’s the 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit ahead of the driver, taking place of conventional dials, while the central stack plays host to two more touchscreens. The top handles your usual infotainment, navigation displays and the like, while the lower screen takes care of the climate controls and other smaller settings, and also acts as an input pad for handwriting gestures and inputs.
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