Audi e-tron electric drive puts out 3,319 lb ft?!?

Audi is standing by it’s claim that the e-tron elective drive supercar has 4,500 Nm (3,319.03 lb ft) of torque. The guys over at Automotive Magazine didn’t believe that claim, so they did some of their own calculations and came up with 252 lb-ft. Now that’s a huge discrepancy, no matter how you look at it. The main difference is how Audi measure the torque output. The astronomical 3,319 is the torque as measured at the wheels after being geared down and multiplied. So, why the disparity between the actual torque of the motors and the figure espoused by Audi to the motoring press?

Well, besides the obvious answer that 3,319 lb-ft at the wheels sounds much more impressive, Audi’s engineers apparently thought the larger number was more indicative of the actual feeling of all the push generated by the four electric motors when accelerating from a dead stop, as the maximum torque figure is achieved right from zero RPM.

No matter what the torque is, the concept, based on the current R8, looks absolutely fantastic. Let’s hope we’ll actually see it hit production in the new few years.