Electric Audi R8 tipped for new supercar platform

Two-door EV looks set for a sports-biased platform that can handle up to 1700bhp

- FELIX PAGE

Audi is understood to be developing a bespoke electric vehicle architecture for low-volume, purpose-built sports cars and supercars.

The firm is poised to launch a wave of models atop the new PPE platform it has developed with Porsche, starting with the Q6 E-tron early next year, and it will subsequently begin launching cars on the VW Group's long-mooted SSP platform, which is due to enter production in 2027.

At the recent Munich motor show, technical boss Oliver Hoffmann also confirmed that Audi will deploy the VW Group's MEB platform - as used by the VW ID 3, Cupra Born and Audi Q4 E-tron for future entry-level EVs.

But when pressed for details on whether any of these platforms would suit lower-volume, more sporting EVs in the vein of the TT and R8, he hinted that the firm would instead invest in a bespoke sports car architecture, which would use elements of the SSP architecture - a fusion of the MEB and PPE platforms that Hoffmann referred to as a "toolkit".