From the March/April 2026 issue of Car and Driver.
Lap Time: 2:50.6
Class: LL4 | Base: $181,795 | As Tested: $189,595
Power and Weight: 912 hp • 5170 lb • 5.7 lb/hp
Tires: Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Elect
F: 265/35ZR-21 101Y NF0
R: 305/30ZR-21 104Y NF0
The absolute fastest an Audi RS e-tron GT will go is 153.8 mph. How are we so sure? Because after whooshing past the start/finish line, the Audi spends the first two and a half seconds of its lap on its speed limiter, which it kisses for another second on the Back Straight. While Vmax was not nearly as detrimental to the e-tron's time as it was for the Ford Mustang V-6 from 2011 (that car spent over 15 seconds at its 114-mph governor), it still held back the electric super-Audi.
Nevertheless, this vehicle is still a perfect proof point of lap-time progress: Although we didn't run an early e-tron, compared with the closely related first-generation 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S, this latest Audi, wearing identical Pirelli P Zero PZ4 tires, went 4.6 seconds quicker, showing improvements in every sector.
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More power helps, but the active suspension is surely responsible too. The dampers are shared with the latest Taycan Turbo GT, yet the Audi's setup isn't as determined to keep the body as low as possible. Whereas the Taycan felt twitchy over the dramatic curbs in the Climbing Esses, the e-tron's magic dampers made the bumps disappear more than any other car we've driven.
We didn't have enough tires to do more than a handful of laps, but we didn't need more seat time. This car is easy to push to the limit; we immediately felt comfortable and up to speed.
While the Audi's time is well off the pace of the fastest four-door EVs, which have both extra power and a lot more in the tire department, the fact that a 5170-pound four-door sedan is cozied up on our all-time leaderboard to some of the hottest cars from roughly a decade ago—a 2012 Corvette ZR1 and a 2014 Ferrari F12— demonstrates the rapid gains in track prowess since then.
Electric Company
The Audi RS e-tron GT is one of 11 EVs we've lapped over the years. Its 2:50.6 time, which is 0.1 second quicker than the C6 ZR1, ranks 69th overall but fifth among its electric brethren.
Dave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver's vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism.
