New Audi RS e-tron GT prototype review: big changes bring big gains

Verdict

On first impressions, Audi’s overhauled e-tron GT has been significantly improved, with more capability and performance than the already impressive previous-generation car. It still lacks a Porsche Taycan’s ultimate engagement, but uses its new hardware to great effect. We’ll have to wait and see if these new elements impress as much when the car arrives in the UK later in 2024.

Part of Audi’s busy 2024 includes an update of its high-performance RS e-tron GT. While it is still some months away from release (due in the third quarter of this year), we drove it back in the tail end of last year in Oman’s dramatic and challenging landscape, to see how the German is set to revise its all-electric flagship. 

While we can only ascertain certain visual changes underneath the colourful liveries of our late-stage prototypes, the updates look subtle, with a redesigned front bumper and new rear diffuser insert. However, the changes due under the skin will be far more comprehensive, despite bosses remaining tight-lipped on some specific details – even while sitting in the passenger seat for the entire afternoon. 

It was at least hinted that this new RS e-tron GT features some fairly substantial upgrades to its electric drivetrain. Leading from the recently updated Porsche Taycan, we suspect this new RS model could be packing a much more serious power figure than before. That said, while the Taycan Turbo S tops out at nearly 950bhp on overboost, the figure will be lower in this new RS E-Tron GT, which might pick up the Performance moniker as seen on the fastest RS 6 and RS 7 models.

There’s also been a focus on battery capacity and efficiency, with the RS’s pack likely to mimic the new Taycan’s larger 97kWh layout. This should unlock longer range figures and higher charging rates, too. With the speed of EV progression, even the e-tron GT’s initially impressive figures need updating to keep up with rivals across the board. 

This top-spec model features an all-new suspension system that utilises four individually active dampers that negate the need for traditional anti-roll bars, creating truly independent suspension system. 

The new dampers have dual valves, giving engineers the ability to tweak the dampers on both compression and rebound, working with new, faster-acting air springs and a clever management system. In essence, it gives the car complete variability of the damper at each corner at any one moment. It also has a much faster action time, and will even rapidly rise up when a door is opened to make getting in and out easier. It’s a system found on the latest Porsche Panamera, and will find its way onto the Taycan too. 

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Where the two systems differ is in their calibration, and in Audi's case the suspension has been designed to widen the e-tron GT’s comfort remit, offering increased support to the body at high speeds at the same time. The steering software has also been overhauled, with better integration of the rear-wheel steering. The brakes have been completely redesigned to better blend the friction and regenerative braking systems, to improve feel and resilience; our prototypes were wearing carbon ceramic discs.

Audi says the purpose of all this work has been to give the RS e-tron GT a more capable and rounded driving experience than before – and on this initial experience it’s something that’s most certainly been achieved. 

We found the last model erred on the side of comfort a little too strongly, especially for a model with ‘RS’ written on the bootlid. But this new model feels instantly sharper, with steering that is heavier in the hands and far more direct around the straight-ahead. The steering ratio also feels a little quicker, with the rear-axle steering’s input only subtly applied – an important factor in high performance models like this. 

The ride also finds a much more pleasing blend between comfort and performance. In Comfort mode the RS’s suspension is superbly damped, with the anti-squat and dive functionality acting much more naturally than in a Panamera fitted with the same system. However, when speeds rise and more lateral support is required, the RS is also much more composed than before, exhibiting less roll and much improved vertical support, keeping what is still a very heavy car feeling controlled over undulating road surfaces. 

It still isn’t quite as dynamic as the more performance-biased Taycans, such as the GTS or Turbo S, but it does represent a marked improvement on the previous Audi RS, which could often feel lacking in ultimate control and composure. 

We still have a few months yet to find out exactly what else is in store for the e-tron GT, but despite being one of Audi’s earlier EVs, this car should still hold its title as Audi’s most dynamic model for some time to come.

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