Record power: Audi e-tron GT tears into Middle East showrooms

The manufacturer’s latest all-electric models, presented to you in RS and quattro formats, are the most high-performance models it has ever produced

The new Audi e-tron is here. All photos: Audi

Getting a little Middle East sun

Dashboard stylings on the e-tron

That's a signature rear tail light, for sure

Sitting in sight of the Burj Khalifa

The centre console on the e-tron

The e-tron is available in the Middle East for the first time

You'll need those hefty orange brake calipers to bring this beast to a halt

The e-tron on UAE sands

Chevrons are a feature of the e-tron's design

On the way to the beach

And on the way back from the beach

The front-wheel on the e-tron

The car is available in the UAE now

Audi’s most powerful models ever, the RS e-tron GT and stablemate the e-tron GT quattro, have rolled into the UAE with that suitably muted roar that goes with tearaway electric vehicles these days.

And if you think those names sound distinctly innovative, that’s half of the manufacturer’s job done. These two vehicles, Audi says, are the embodiment of its “vision for the future of mobility”.

We’d better get the issue of power out of the way first – the quattro and the RS can deliver up to 530 and 646 horsepower respectively, which, by any measure, puts an impressive amount of oomph at the driver’s fingertips.

Reports suggest 0-100 kilometres per hour figures of 3.9 seconds in the quattro and 3.1 seconds in the RS, which should certainly be useful if you have to get anywhere in a hurry.

The cars are distinctly low-slung in appearance, but it’s not difficult to see that the designers have been going for a combination of sportiness and luxury. The four-door coupe design reinterprets the classic idea of the gran turismo, Audi says, and the new arrivals "demonstrate accumulated technical expertise".

Range is always something anyone who fancies an electric car should be looking at, and the reported figures for the e-tron pair seem respectable – you can get up to 488km out of the quattro, while the RS is slightly less at 472km.

Importantly, though, both models only need little over 22 minutes on a high-power charging unit to get the battery around four-fifths full, but you can get enough for a 100km jaunt after a five-minute charge.

Inside, the cars have what Audi is calling a “monoposto character”, which is a feature lifted from the manufacturer’s R8 supercar. Apparently, this gives drivers “a feeling of open, yet controlled, space within the cockpit”.

Test drives are now available at local dealers across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. No official word on the local price as yet, with Audi saying you have to contact a showroom to get that information.