Audi’s new £4MILLION car for Avengers: Endgame has superhero style and a production version of the e-tron GT is due in 18 months
For the 99.9 per cent of us who can't afford the £4m prototype, you'll be pleased to know that the real e-tron GT road car will look almost the same
IT’S only January 3 and I’m already the Coolest Dad of the Year.
How so? Because here I am driving Tony Stark’s new motor from upcoming movie Avengers: Endgame. Cool-o-meter, melted.
And don’t just think the police outriders were there to make it a bit more Hollywood. OK, they were, partly. But mostly because this prototype electric Audi e-tron GT is worth £4MILLION and Marvel still had to reshoot a scene with Robert Downey Jr.
So the last thing Audi needed was for some numbnuts from The Sun to prang it in downtown LA in rush hour. I didn’t.
Audi’s tie-up with Marvel Studios is pure marketing gold. It started with Stark driving an R8 in Iron Man in 2008 and now the superhero has a superzero e-tron GT for Avengers: Endgame, in cinemas April 26.
It is the fourth film in the series after The Avengers, Age of Ultron and Infinity War.
Now, let’s talk GT. I’m told the real road car — due in 18 months — will look as near as damn it the same as this prototype.
Which is good, because it looks the absolute nuts. It has the same bones as a Porsche Taycan, which means it will be very fast. Two electric motors, 590hp, quattro all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds, 0-124mph in 12, and as low as an R8.
Top speed is limited to 149mph to maximise range.
Last observation. The vegan interior uses synthetic leather and carpets made from old fishing nets. Good choice, Mr Stark.
Plenty of poke
LET’S dive straight in. Audi’s first electric car, the e-tron SUV, is typically brilliant.
It’s a lush, quiet, five-seat family cruiser with digital door mirrors, Quattro all-wheel drive, adaptive air suspension, big 95kWh battery in the floor and, of course, zero tailpipe emissions.
It’s even built in a carbon-neutral plant in Brussels.
But, jeez, it’s expensive. Prices start at £71,500 – reduced to £68,000 with the Government’s £3,500 electric car grant, however long that lasts – up to £82,000 for the all-singing Launch Edition.
So, is it just an expensive toy – like the equally brilliant Jaguar i-Pace – for right-on people with too much cash to burn? Absolutely.
The Hyundai Kona goes just as far, for half the price.
But the e-tron SUV is the first of a wave of 12 pure-electric Audis coming in the next six years, including a small car to be revealed shortly.
The e-tron SUV hits the road in March and will be followed by a coupe-styled Sportback later this year and the GT, above, in 2020.
Then Audi will unleash the cheaper mainstream EVs. So what’s it like to drive?
As you’d hope. Smooth, refined, as quiet as a library – even on big wheels. You’ll arrive at your destination relaxed and ready to go.
It’s not Tesla-fast but for a car weighing 2.5 tonnes, it’s not slow either. And it has plenty of poke for overtaking.
The 248-mile range drops dramatically on arrow-straight motorways but you soon earn back miles through regenerative braking on twisty roads, especially downhill.
Size-wise, the e-tron slots between the Q5 and Q7 and has a decent 600-litre boot with another 60 litres up front (or the frunk, if you’re from Trumpland). It can tow 1,800kg.
As for those party-piece digital door mirrors, I’m not sold. The idea is brilliant but the execution isn’t. The HD display screens seem unnaturally low and take some getting used to. And they cost another £1,250.
There are two charging points, one either side of the vehicle – another Audi first – and a 150kW public rapid-charger will juice it to 80 per cent in 30 minutes, if you can find one. But at home, it’ll take all night.
Hmmm. Make that almost brilliant, then.
Speed dating
HERE’S your at-a-glance guide to the top motoring events in 2019:
MAY
- Truckfest: May 5-6, Peter-borough. Tickets from £22.
- The London Motor & Tech Show: May 16-19, ExCeL, London. Tickets from £15.
- World RX: May 25-26, Silverstone. Britain’s round of the World Rallycross Championship, plus live music and eSports. See speedmachine.com.
- Drag Racing: May 24-27, Santa Pod, Northants. The opening round of the European Championships starring 300mph Top Fuel Dragsters and 200mph Drag Bikes. The nutjobs return to Santa Pod for the Euro Finals, Sept 5-8.
JUNE
- Wings & Wheels: June 15-16, Dunsfold, Surrey. Look up for air displays, look down for supercars on the Top Gear test track. Tickets from £24.
JULY
- Goodwood Festival of Speed: July 4-7, Goodwood, West Sussex. Petrolhead heaven. If you can only go to one event, make sure it is this. Tickets from £39.
- British F1 Grand Prix: July 12-14, Silverstone. Spread the cost with interest-free monthly payments at silverstone.co.uk. C’mon, Lewis.
- Festival of the Unexceptional: July 20, Claydon Estate, Bucks. The Concours de l’Ordinaire celebrates naff classics such as Marinas, Allegros and Avengers.
- Carfest North: July 26-28, Bolesworth, Cheshire. Music, cars and family fun. Brilliant weekend captained by Chris Evans, raising millions for UK children’s charities. Sign up for ticket alerts at carfest.org.
- Silverstone Classic: July 26-28, Silverstone. Retro race weekend with 50-plus car grids. Tickets from £35.
AUGUST
- Truckfest Scotland: Aug 3-4, Edinburgh. Tickets from £18.
- Carfest South: Aug 23-25, Laverstoke Park Farm, Hampshire. See CarFest North listing.
- British MotoGP: Aug 23-25, Silverstone. All your heroes – Marquez, Rossi et al – belting around the GP track at stupid speeds. Tickets from £15.
SEPTEMBER
- Blenheim Palace Classic & Supercar Show: Sept 8, Blenheim, near Oxford. More exotica than a Dubai multi-storey.
- Goodwood Revival: Sept 13-15, Goodwood, West Sussex. Timewarp race weekend where everyone wears period clothing. Tickets from £59.
OCTOBER
- Wales Rally GB: Oct 3-6, north Wales. Britain’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Pack wellies and hot flask.
W series
SATNAV songs
Turn Around (Bonnie Tyler), Where The Streets Have No Name (U2), I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (U2).
Tweet your suggestions to @robgilluk and I’ll print the best.
Fingerprint technology
IS this the beginning of the end for the car key? Soon you’ll be able to unlock and start a Hyundai Santa Fe with your FINGERPRINT.
The door handle scanner also adjusts the seat and mirrors to your preferred position as you get in.
MOST READ IN MOTORS
Game changer
BP is to fit ultra-rapid 150kW chargers – that’s even faster than Tesla – at UK forecourts.
This will enable certain electric cars, like the Audi e-tron SUV, to be charged to 80 per cent in under 30 minutes. Now that’s a game-changer.
Winter tyres
THE contact patch between tyre and road is the equivalent of a size 10 shoe.
Not a lot, is it? That’s why I tell everyone who will listen that winter tyres – marked M+S, mud and snow – are essential at this time of year.
They stop more quickly and provide better grip in the cold and rain below 7C, as well as on snow and ice.
Germany has the “O to O” rule – October to Ostern (Easter) – when drivers switch to winter tyres. We should adopt it too.