Audi Confirms Production of R8 Electric

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler tells reporters production plans for the company's on-again, off-again R8 E-tron, an all-electric version of its R8 sports car, are on again.

Last spring the Volkswagen AG unit said it had dropped plans to commercialize the R8 E-tron, citing the high cost of the car's battery and power management system.

Audi unveiled the car in concept form at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show. Early last year it said the two-seater could travel about 130 miles per charge. Stadler now reports that Audi has extended that range to 180-200 miles and could push it farther.

Saying he would prefer to achieve least 350 miles per charge, he tells reporters, "Some solutions could provide that range," without elaborating. Stadler also didn't indicate when production would begin, how many cars will be produced, what their price might be or where they will be available.

The R8 E-tron is equipped with a 1,300-lb 49-kWh battery and two electric motors that deliver a combined 376 hp and 604 lb-ft of torque.

Audi says the car can accelerate from zero to 100 kph in 4.2 seconds and reach an electronically limited top speed of 124 mph. The carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body of the 3,900-lb car weighs only 439 lbs.