New AUDI E5 Sportback brings 776bhp and 478-mile range

The AUDI E5 Sportback has been unveiled as the first production model from the German car maker's new China-specific sub-brand, packing up to 776bhp and a range of 478 miles.

Described as having been developed “in China for China”, it is an electric car based on new underpinnings developed in collaboration with MG owner SAIC.

Its design is a faithful translation of the E Concept that was shown last year, diverging almost completely from the design language used by the brand’s previous models. It completely dispenses with the four-ring logo, for example, and is much more minimalist in its surfacing treatment.

It is positioned roughly in line with the combustion-engined Audi A5 but is slightly longer and wider, most likely to meet Chinese-market expectations for interior space.

Inside, a 27in display screen spans the full width of the dashboard. Its software is said to place the critical functions in the top level of its menus at all times, and there is an app store that is accessed using facial recognition technology.

The E5 will be offered with four battery-electric powertrains with outputs of 295bhp, 402bhp, 570bhp and 776bhp. The range-topper has four-wheel drive and is badged Quattro, while the entry-level car uses a single rear-mounted motor.

The most potent version is capable of dispatching 0-62mph in 3.4sec.

A range of up to 478 miles – on China's more lenient Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle – is yielded by the car’s 100kWh battery pack, which is said to be capable of taking on sufficient charge for 230 miles of range in 10 minutes.

The car also majors on autonomous driving capabilities and can take control in both motorway and urban driving. A combination of a roof-mounted lidar box, three long-range radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors and an array of cameras allows it to “predict tricycles and delivery riders like a veteran of Beijing’s hutongs”, Audi claimed.