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2021 Audi E-Tron GT to get RS hero and jet sounds

The 2021 Audi E-Tron GT will get a high-performance RS variant, the brand has confirmed.


While full details have yet to be revealed, Audi's all-electric performance sedan – which shares its platform with the Porsche Taycan – is expected to offer a combined output of 434kW from its electric motors.

Audi has remained tight-lipped about the RS version, but it's thought the car's performance will sit somewhere closer to that of the Porsche Taycan Turbo, which itself offers 460kW.

The Audi E-Tron GT will be manufactured at the same high-tech plant as the Audi R8 supercar, north of Stuttgart in Germany, and powered by renewable electricity.

In what was a thinly-veiled swipe at Tesla, Audi has been keen to point out its precision machines can measure surface inaccuracies on the bodywork within 0.2 of a millimetre.

 

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'E-Sounds' to alert pedestrians and road users

The E-Tron GT and its RS counterpart will feature 'E-Sounds', developed to aid safety, as well as adding to the driving experience, which is normally silent in an electric vehicle.

The basis of these sounds comes from a humble fan, which was recorded by Audi's audio specialists through a long metal cylinder. This recording was then modified and built on, with a total of 32 individual elements helping to create the sound.

The result is something similar to a jet engine powering up, with the noise modulating based on the engine data, before it is projected from a loudspeaker at the front of the vehicle. Speed and throttle position change the tone.

Both the European Union and the US have introduced regulations mandating all electric cars emit an external sound for the benefit of pedestrians – up to 20km/h and 32km/h respectively.

 

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The Audi models will feature a single loudspeaker at the front of the vehicle, with the sound fading down by the time the car reaches 60km/h.

Buyers can option an additional sound package, which adds a second loudspeaker to the rear of the vehicle, together with two additional speakers mounted in the car's interior for the occupants.

Audi has confirmed both the E-Tron GT and the RS version will get slightly different sounds based on the same base sound file. This will be the case across the entire E-Tron range in the future.

The full reveal of the Audi E-Tron GT models is expected in the coming weeks.

Ben Zachariah

Ben Zachariah is an experienced writer and motoring journalist from Melbourne, having worked in the automotive industry for more than two decades. Ben began writing professionally more than 15 years ago and was previously an interstate truck driver. He completed his MBA in Finance in early 2021 and is considered an expert on classic car investment.

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