The Audi R8 E-Tron project is suspended

The Audi R8 E-Tron electric car, first shown as a concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009, and, as experts, who was preparing for serial production in early 2013, was in an unenviable situation. It is reported that work on the supercar was suspended, and the project itself can be canceled at all. The other day in Car magazine & Driver has an article according to which the new head of the Audi research and development department Wolfgang Durheimer suspended the project. The author of the material referred to factors such as the high cost of batteries, a limited performance range for quite a lot of money and a possible absence of a sufficient number of customers. Expert Car & Driver notes that the R8 E-Tron project may not resume. High costs for the development and production of a battery and a small range of strokes were called the most important among the «numerous» reasons for such a decision. The publication also notes that the battery industry does not stand still, and old batteries production technologies are replaced by new ones that “change the rules of the game”, increasing the energy density. The batteries actually become better, but the speed of their improvement, as it turned out, does not suit the German automaker. Over the past few years, the Audi R8 E-Tron prototype has been used during demonstration races, but, as you know, the charge of its batteries ended at the most inopportune time-for example, in Le-Man in 2010. More recently — in June of this year — the electric car was tested in Nurburgring, where his pilot managed to set a new speed record among electric cars. Under the control of the Racer of the Winkelhok Markus, the Audi R8 E-Tron Electric Card passed a 20.8-kilometer track in 8 minutes 9.099 seconds. The car was equipped with four electric motors, each of which was installed on one of the wheels. The total return of the units was 313 horsepower. The conceptual model could accelerate from a place of up to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.8 seconds. In 2009, it was reported that MSRP (recommended by the manufacturer Retail price) of the Audi supercar will begin at about 150 thousand. Doll. USA, but in 2012 information appeared that the price tag will rise to 242 thousand. The car was supposed to go on sale in 2014, and the start of production was planned a year earlier. If you believe Car & Driver, Audi planned to use Supercar as a competitor to Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive, but now we will not be able to compare these car. As part of the Audi R8 E-Tron project, the company demonstrated innovations such as the rear-view mirrors, as well as the E-Sound Signature technology used to prevent pedestrians.