Audi’s all-electric R8 has been discontinued once again.
After being an on-again, off-again project for at least six years, the German automaker showed off the production R8 e-tron at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Based on the second-generation Audi R8, the e-tron production model features an all-electric powertrain with 456 horsepower and 679 pound-feet of torque, allowing it to travel 280 miles on a single charge while going zero-to-62 mph (zero-to-100 km/h) in just 3.9 seconds.
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But after being on display at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, the R8 e-tron made another appearance at the CES Asia show in Shanghai before it quietly fell out of the spotlight. Priced at around $1.1-million, the R8 e-tron was only available in Europe and, according to an Audi representative speaking to , it appears less than 100 units were built. “We could have built more than we did,” the representative said. Considering that a regular R8 costs around $163,000, the $1.1-million price tag was probably too high for the car to be a success.
The story is vaguely similar to the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive that headed to market with a four-motor setup churning 740 hp. Priced at around $385,000, that model didn’t fare too well on the market either, selling less than 100 units.
[Source: Car and Driver]
