Audi E-Tron GT

Even though the overall profile of the E-Tron GT is similar to that of the Taycan, designers did plenty to differentiate the Audi from its Porsche relative. Nothing says "Audi" quite like the GT’s familiar trapezoidal faux grille shape, wide-set, aggressive headlights, and low-slung stance. Athletic sheetmetal bulges above the wheels are reminiscent of Audi’s powerful RS7, and a sculpted, hashmarked taillight bar pulls in the car’s body lines as they slope toward its tail.

The wheels are a five double-spoke design for U.S.-bound models. The base trim gets 20-inch wheels with grey accents, while cars equipped with the performance package get black accents. The RS will be available with trim-specific wheels, in either 20- or 21-inch diameters. Radiator and brake cooling ducts have shutters that open and close to optimize either cooling or aerodynamics, depending upon driving demands. Audi says the car’s drag coefficient is 0.24, which is the same as the previous version of the Tesla Model S P85.

Coming or going, the E-Tron GT looks like something that will be as impressive on the track as it will be sitting in a row of motionless valet-parked cars at the entrance to an expensive restaurant.

The interior is also unmistakably Audi. The giant trapezoid from the front end appears in smaller form at various places on the dash, including the vent bezels, door handle bezels, and instrument cluster. The faux suede-wrapped steering wheel has a sporty-looking flat spot along its bottom edge. Crisp, full-color displays, both on the instrument panel and infotainment screen lend the upscale look that anyone spending $100,000 or more on a car would expect.

Offering a leather-free interior, studded with recycled material, Audi has created an interior environment aimed at the environmentally conscious. For everyone else, leather upholstery made from actual animal hides can be subbed in for an added fee. The Audi's cargo space is 9.2 cubic feet, but the Taycan’s trunk is 14.3 cubic feet on the standard model, and 12.9 cubic feet in the Turbo and Turbo S models. The Taycan also has a 2.8-cubic-foot “frunk” where the engine would be on a conventional car.

Unlike some of the gasoline-powered Audi cars currently on the road, the electric models don’t make much noise. So Audi’s audio engineers created a unique acceleration sound, to enhance the driving experience and to alert pedestrians to the vehicle’s approach. In a video published on Audi’s media site last fall, the company explains that different sounds will be available for the various driving modes. The sound bites available on the internet thus far depict a space-age sound that will put the “Tron” in E-Tron.

All E-Tron GT models have the same 93-kWh battery pack, which sits within an aluminum frame beneath the cabin floor. Audi says the car’s 800-volt charging system allows the battery to be charged from 5 percent capacity to 80 percent capacity in 22 and a half minutes using DC fast charging that can be found in public places. The EPA estimates are 238 miles of range in base trim and 232 miles of range in RS trim. That is a few miles more than the EPA’s range estimate for the Taycan 4S, but significantly less than the 348-mile EPA range estimate for the top-performing Tesla Model S Plaid.