Audi RS e-tron Ice Race Concept debuts on May 28

Audi released a YouTube video teasing the upcoming RS e-tron Ice Race Concept. The car is scheduled for a debut this coming Sunday, May 28. Alongside the RS e-tron GT, the company is teasing the classic Audi Sport Quattro, which seemingly has been converted and now runs on electricity.

There are no other details available about either of the vehicles, at least not officially. Both cars sport similar graphics with bright white bodies and purple accents. We get a glimpse of the RS e-tron’s pristine white interior, and apart from new wheels and the graphics, it’s really hard to tell the difference - until we look into the heritage of Ice Race.

There are subtle clues all around both the RS e-tron and the Sport Quattro - the number plates with F.A.T. on them - this was the original logistics company that used to sponsor Le Mans in the 90s. The Ice Race itself used to attract 10,000 fans to the Austrian town of Zell am See to watch cars racing on ice - from classic cars to prototype vehicles.

The Ice Race originated in 1952, and back then it was called Porsche Memorial Skijöring Race. In 1957 the race already attracted 5,000 spectators. In 1974 the race was canceled due to an accident with the snow-clearing vehicle. For 45 years the race was forgotten, until 2019 when the race was revived to an entirely new format.

The late Ken Block joined in 2022, as did Max Verstappen, Aksel Lund Svindal, and JP Kraemer. The 2022 GP Ice Race was a show like no other, with F1 cars racing rally cars and with big sponsors coming aboard - Redbull and Audi among them. Ken Block drove the Audi RS Q e-tron, which was raced in Dakar 2022 by Mattias Ekström.

That gives us an idea of what lies ahead - the RS e-tron Ice Race Concept is a special edition vehicle created to commemorate the history of the Ice Race. With the Audi Sport Quattro, we are looking at the best of the motorsport legacy brought into the electric age. Both cars are very likely to share the powertrain, although the Sport Quattro may have a different battery purely because there is not enough room between its axles for the 83.7 kWh battery pack from the RS e-tron.

Will the RS e-tron Ice Race Concept feature more power? The RS e-tron is technically a twin with Porsche Taycan, and both vehicles share many components - including the electric motors, inverters, and the battery. The Taycan Turbo S manages to squeeze out 761 hp (560 kW) from the same powertrain that Audi pushes out only 646 hp (475 kW). Clearly, there is room for more, and it is just a question of a couple of lines of new code and voila - the fastest electric Audi ever.

We won’t know for sure what Audi is planning until Sunday. Until then, we can enjoy guessing games and daydreaming about an even faster Audi. A 761 hp RS e-tron Ice Race would leave its gasoline-powered RS6 sibling in the dust. Here is the YouTube live stream where we’ll find out more - on Sunday, May 28:

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