[CES 2011] If you’re currently going through a middle age crisis and wish you had the wheels to back up your manliness, then chances are pretty good that you won’t go wrong with the Audi R8 e-tron. Just take a look at this puppy and you will need a tissue to wipe away all of that drool. Bugatti Veyron owners might call you a third of a man since it has 313 horsepower (the stock Veyron has 1,000 right out of the garage), but we would say you’re already a self made man if you can afford one of these puppies without taking a loan.
This high performance sports car is all electric – all the way down to its design. Boasting a quartet of electric motors (two at the front axle and another two behind), it is capable of churning out a maximum power output of 230 kW (313 hp) as mentioned earlier, not to mention doing 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds – having its top speed electronically limited to 200 km/h. Out from the end of next year onwards (has 24 months been ever longer), the Audi R8 e-tron will be available in very small quantities. Of course, all that juice is generated by 1200 pounds of batteries, sporting a 150 mile range. The batteries take around 6 to 8 hours to charge fully from a 230V supply, although a heavy current will take just around 2.5 hours.
Now the big question is this – where do you lug around a 150-mile cord? Jokes aside, the R8 does seem to shape up to be a pretty sharp lookin’ car. Then again, most of the newer electric vehicles that roll out are extremely futuristic in terms of look so if a marquee like Audi misses the mark with the R8 that would be nothing short of disastrous.