Life imitates art

Amazing movie cars have long held us in thrall. Larger than life on the big screen – seemingly so much ‘cooler’ than anything from the everyday, and so terribly, terribly unattainable.

But next year, production will begin on one of the most eagerly anticipated new models from Audi, which, coincidentally, has already featured on the big screen and is about to make another appearance in animated from in another huge cinematic release.

The Audi e-tron GT concept, stole the show at the Los Angeles Auto Show last year, its svelte, sports styling giving more than a nod to Audi’s R8 supercar, but adding a whole new dimension with its all-electric drive. Effectively, the Audi e-tron draws on the R8 style to produce something utterly performance based, with the heart of an electric vehicle.

The car featured in this year’s blockbuster Avengers: End Game as part of the epic Marvel universe, driven by none other than Tony Stark/aka Iron Man. It also appeared in a number of additional productions around the film and will appear in animated form (or at least a pretty close approximation of the e-tron GT) in the coming 20th Century Fox film, Spies in Disguise.

The production version of the Audi e-tron GT will be manufactured alongside the Audi R8 supercar at Audi Sport GmbH’s production facilities in the Böllinger Höfe. Work has been underway since early this year to prepare the facility for the new e-supercar, with additional logistics buildings being added and state-of-the-art equipment set up in the body shop and assembly areas.
“Since the Böllinger Höfe was already created in the design phase as a small-series production facility with innovative and flexible production processes, that gives us the ideal conditions to produce the e-tron GT alongside the Audi R8,” says Production Manager Wolfgang Schanz.

“Here a unique combination of craftsmanship and smart factory is coming to life.”
The Audi e-tron GT and the Audi R8 will be produced separately in the body shop. While the body shop for the R8 stands out with its largely handcrafted finish, a separate, highly automated body shop facility is being finalised for the e-tron GT. 

The significance of the two Audi supercars being manufactured side by side is fitting, given the emotive nature of these two high-performance models. What is more significant is the fact that although they utilise different propulsion methods, they are each ‘pin up models’ and both movie stars in their own right – come to life in the real world.

The Audi e-tron GT also represents an irresistible combination of cutting-edge e-technology, with classic, sportscar styling – the future is looking good.