Detroit 2010: Audi E-Tron Detroit Concept

E-Tron, E-Tron, E-Tron - Audi wants everyone to know it is serious about electric vehicles. The rumored "electric R8" was first shown in Frankfurt as the E-Tron, which was clearly a concept. Despite looking quite similar to the Audi R8, it is actually not based on that car.

After that, it came out that Audi greenlighted production. Now, a new car is showing up in Detroit.

E-Tron, is that you? Not the same way as we saw it before. This time, instead of a mid-engined layout, the E-Tron comes back with a Gran Turismo-like configuration. The design sets the E-Tron further away from the R8 and, according to Audi, has practical implications as well.

The latest concepts drives the rear wheels using two electric motors instead of the previous four.

Doing this keeps weight distribution at Audi's prescribed figure of  40/60. As far as figures go, the curb weight for the new E-Tron check in at just 2,976 pounds (!), an undoubtedly impressive figure for a battery-powered GT like this.

In addition, 0-62 mph is reached in 5.9 seconds. That number is down a bit from the figure at Frankfurt, which reached 0-60 mph in just 4.8 seconds. This is understandable as Audi begins to tune the car further for production.

The good news is that a production date has again been confirmed for 2010. For the production car, expect the recent version to be the best look yet at the final car.

In addition, more "E-Tron" models are expected in the future, meaning the name is Audi's chosen moniker for the car's powertrain rather than just an individual model.