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Audi e-tron 2019: New performance details revealed

Audi's e-tron SUV will be fitted with a high-tech recuperation system so clever that, if you live around some very large hills, it could theoretically keep driving forever.

That's the promise from Audi, at least. In releasing more detail about its e-tron today, the German brand claims every kilometre its electric SUV travels downhill adds roughly another kilometre in range.

The claim was put to the test in a number of prototypes at Pikes Peak in the USA, with the 31km downhill run adding about the same distance to the car's 400km range.

The secret, Audi says, is that the e-tron "will offer most innovative recuperation concept among the competitors", with a three-pronged energy recuperation strategy that uses the brakes, the electric motors or a combination of the two.

For most gentle braking manoeuvres, the e-tron regathers power using the electric motors and not the conventional brake, with the driver able to select how much energy is regathered (ie: how quickly the car slows when not accelerating) via the paddle shifters. Audi says the most extreme setting gives the e-tron a “one-pedal feeling”, with the driver rarely having to touch the brake at all.

For more urgent stopping, the driver can use the brake pedal, with a new electrohydraulic system providing more energy recuperation, with the added benefit of shortening how long it takes to come to a stop in an emergency braking situation by around 20 per cent.

Perhaps the best news, though, is that when it comes to using all that regenerated power, the e-tron promises to be plenty of fun. Powered by two electric motors with a combined output of 265kW and 561Nm, Audi is also promising a "boost mode" in sport mode that will up power to 300kW and 664Nm for spells of up to eight seconds.

In its angriest settings, the e-tron will clip 100km/h on less than six seconds, and push on to a limited top speed of 200km/h.

The e-tron will be unveiled in full on September 17, and is expected to arrive in Australia next year.

Can the e-tron pry buyers away from the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-Pace? Tell us in the comments below.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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