The Weird, Complicated Life of the Audi R8 E-tron Silently Comes to an End

by Steph Willems

October 13th, 2016 3:48 PM

the weird complicated life of the audi r8 e tron silently comes to an end

Maybe buyers weren’t ready for an electric supercar. Maybe there wasn’t enough hype and star power. Hell, maybe no one knew about it.

Whatever the reason for the Audi R8 e-tron’s lack of sales and visibility, we do know one sure thing about this environmentally friendly phantom — it is stone cold dead.

The shadowy model that received more press as a concept car than a production vehicle was quietly killed off by Audi, Car and Driver confirms.

How many of these European status symbols rolled off the assembly line? Less than 100, an Audi spokesperson told the publication. Apparently, well-heeled buyers had better things to spend one million euros (1.1 million greenbacks) on, because it wasn’t as if Audi couldn’t build more of them. They could have, the spokesperson claims.

Exclusivity usually sells, but not in this case. While the model never appeared in official car buying channels — it was a no-show in sales literature and Audi’s online model lineup — it seems that pure lack of interest killed this model. DiCaprio was never photographed in one, and high-end models like the BMW i8 captured the eye of the six-figure EV crowd. Blame those alluring doors.

Appearing first as a 2009 concept vehicle, the model seemed bound for a 2012 production run. Audi rebooted that idea, with a second concept appearing the following year in Detroit. After that, silence — at least until a

#Audi #AudiR8 #AudiR8E-tron #ElectricVehicles #EVs #ProductPlanning #Sales #Technology

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 12 comments

TonyJZX on Oct 14, 2016

I like to think I keep up with 'car news' but this is the first time I read about a million dollar R8... and it comes down to this...why would anyone buy a car thats a million that doesnt look a million... A Pagani is a million, a Koeniggegg is a million, this is an electric r8...

Like Reply
- Henkdevries on Oct 14, 2016
  
  why would anyone buy a car thats a million that doesnt look a million… The answer to that question is ... the question.
  
  Like
05lgt on Oct 14, 2016

my own personal million + dollar car won't see enough miles for the carbon to fuel it to make a percentage difference compared to the carbon to make it. So, since the difference is negligible, I'll take the Pagani please.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

BEPLA "Quality is Job........well, it's someone's job, but it's not our job.Neither is building vehicles that people actually want or need.We only build what's most profitable. If only someone would buy our 97 day supply of SuperDutys."
Bullnuke One might ask the reason that auto manufacturers desire its removal , knowing that an AM radio receiver portion of an "infotainment system" is a relatively tiny IC chip and exceedingly inexpensive to include. I remember constructing a simple AM receiver as a kid using a crystal, a variable capacitor, a toilet paper tube wrapped in bare copper wire, and a diode that could pick up AM stations from several miles away. A simple research of the pros/cons of AM vs FM may be instructive. Noise and static is a common issue (some of us older folks remember interference with the AM band from breaker-point ignition systems from times gone by and the methods to mitigate it). Is the push toward electrification reintroducing the electrical interference problem to the AM band that is expensively difficult to mitigate? Is the fact that AM, as imperfect as it may be, has a much longer signal "reach" than FM? The automobile industry Borg does nothing without a long term plan for greater and greater control of the vehicle that you pay for but do not truly own. The push to remove AM receivers from the vehicles that the meat puppets purchase but do not truly own indicates that there is, indeed, much more to this story...
Ajla Not very impressive materials. And nearly every control touch point not on the screen is piano black.
Azfelix Justice is depicted as being blind(folded) to represent the expectation that everyone is treated equally when judged. What could possibly go wrong when certain groups or individuals receive preferential or disadvantageous treatment by the legal branch of the government? /s
Oberkanone AM Radio forever! Fully support government mandate to require AM in vehicles.