Going sideways in an Audi RS e-tron GT

Think an 830Nm, 800 volt EV doesn’t belong on the epic, ice and snow-capped proving grounds near Queenstown, then best you think again. Not only did the high-performance RS e-tron GT handle the wintery conditions with thrilling aplomb, but in some exercises, left its Audi ICE-powered siblings out in the cold.

Initially opened in 1990, the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds (SHPG) is an award winning automotive proving ground and is a global leader in winter testing facilities for automotive, component and tyre manufacturers.

With 16 private, land-based test areas that ensure absolute confidentiality, the SHPG was initially all business with no public access allowed, however, things changed 15-years ago when Audi (the first car company to do so) turned it into a winter playground for those that like their fun – sideways.

As Audi New Zealand General Manager, Greg Leet explains, “There’s no better environment than this, the snow and ice, to demonstrate Audi’s quattro performance. Quattro cut its teeth doing things in snow that cars just didn’t ever do. And that’s what the customers see here.”

Over the years, the cars may have changed, but the smiles on the faces of those that participate remained the same throughout. But what of the inclusion of EVs into the ICE-powered mix, surely that would have raised some eyebrows we assumed,to which ‘the RS e-tron GT demonstrates that electrification is no compromise to performance,’ came Greg’s reply. And he was right.

The line-up of Audi’s on the snow was a performance-nut’s dream. Beginning with the 228kW S3 and 294kW RS3, through the 260kW S4 and 332kW RS4 and culminating with two 475kW powered RS e-tron GTs – meaning that despite the windchill dipping the mercury to freezing temperatures, it was undoubtedly going to be a good day. Particularly as we would be cycling through all models, with ESC permanently OFF.

Our first exercise was a simple understanding of both understeer and oversteer, with the former being the enemy (and the result of heading into the corner too fast) and the latter being where all the day’s fun lay.

Full throttle down a snow-laden straight, off the accelerator and turn had my S3’s front tyres ploughing through the white stuff, with a little steering unwind having the quattro system pointing the nose back in the right direction. Understeer check.

Slow into the corner, turn the wheel and stamp on the throttle had my tail swinging round to meet the front seats. A steering turn towards the upcoming tail and off the gas being the simple correction. Oversteer check.

The next exercise was a three turn oversteer manoeuvre, the same as we had just done but with three connecting turns, small right, larger left and a final big right. My first attempt in the RS4 was good, but my second turn in the RS e-tron GT was sooo much better.

Despite the RS4’s 331kW of power, there is a tiny lag as it spools and works its magic under the bonnet, not so with the e-tron. 475kW of power and 830Nm of torque all there at the dab of the throttle. The result is nothing short of stupendous, with the rear end of this 2.3-tonne super EV snapping round at lightning speed and yet settling just as quickly the moment my foot left the pedal. 

Turn and more throttle for the second corner had the rear join my right ear, before the grand finale of a huge right corner drift with snow billowing from all four of the GT’s studded rubber tyres – it was a hell of a rush that we were allowed to do two more times.

A slalom run was next and the anticipation of staring down a cone laden straight with the e-tron’s foreboding motor sound was another inexplicable moment. With its low centre of gravity and instant torque, the e-tron shifted its weight well, shaking its tail like an excited puppy, all with minimal steering inputs and a posh interior/advanced MMI system that I barely looked at.

Sure the final ‘little Finland’ and knockout gymkhana exercises were completed with ICE-powered models, but that didn’t detract from the sheer performance and ability of the battery-powered e-tron. Not only did it show it was more than equal to its fossil-fuelled siblings, its instant torque (and huge amounts of it) made going sideways a breeze – Greg Leet said it best “the RS e-tron GT demonstrates that electrification is no compromise to performance.”