Video: Formula E-Powered Audi RS3 Destroys Porsche GT2 RS and Huracan Performante
The amped-up little sedan packs not one, but four Formula E-derived electric motors.
Remember when videos of super-fast electric cars were popping up all over the internet, blowing people's minds with their neck-breaking acceleration? Remember how cool that was? Well, like most things in life, we've all grown used to it by now, and seeing a Tesla rip a Kawasaki Ninja on the drag strip isn't exactly exciting anymore. However, what if you replaced the Tesla with a tiny and highly modified Audi RS3, and what if instead of racing a motorcycle it would fight some of the most powerful and respected supercars in the world? Would that make things exciting once again? You betcha.
This video courtesy of Formula E racing driver and heir to the Audi Abt Sportline kingdom Daniel Abt, shows us what four Formula E electric motors in a small sedan can do. More precisely, what four motors able to produce 220-kilowatts each, 880 kW total, can do when directed to a state-of-the-art all-wheel-drive system and sticky tires. To put that into perspective, the not-yet-real, super-fast 2020 Tesla Roadster is rumored to produce "just" 200 kW.
The Audi's proper name is the Schaeffler 4ePerformance or S4eP for short, and once all those feisty electrons are converted into plain 'ole horsepower, the tiny RS3 possesses 1,180 of them. So, now you see how why it was paired against monsters like the Audi R8, Lamborghini Huracan Performante, and even the mighty Porsche GT2 RS.
With that out of the way, it's not necessarily a surprise that it beat the 540-horsepower R8, as even with its V-10 engine and clever all-wheel-drive, it's severely underpowered compared to the RS3. But, the 630 Huracan Performante and 700-horsepower GT2 RS surely should put up more a fight, no? Well, they sort of did, until they didn't. In the end, electric power wins.
Enjoy the show.
