Audi plans virtual launch of e-tron Sportback

German carmaker Audi has announced that it will launch the Audi e-tron Sportback through its Virtual Market 4, a digital platform dedicated for its customers.

Audi claims to be the first car manufacturer to use one of the world's largest virtual reality events, as a presentation and experience platform for the all-new Audie-tronSportback.

The Social VR-event created by the Japanese company Hikky will take place for the fourth time in 2020 and attracted more than 710,000 international visitors last year. This year, the organisers expect up to one million participants, who will move through the virtual space called "Para-real Tokyo" as 3D characters and interact with each other.

Amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Virtual Market 4 has become an ideal format for preparing and flanking the market launch of the Audie-tronSportback in Japan and beyond. The model will be launched in Europe in this quarter and will reach dealers in the United States and Asia in the second half of the year.

The new Audi e-tron S models will be the first electric cars worldwide with three motors in mass production. Their drive layout is based on the concept with two different asynchronous motors (ASM); the e-tron product line was designed in modular form in line with this from the start.

The three electric motors, two of which are located on the rear axle, together provide 370 kW of boost power and 973 Nm (717.6 lb-ft) of torque. This allows the two purely electrically driven models to accelerate to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 4.5 seconds.

The Audie-tronSportback is parked in "Para-real Tokyo" at selected locations. If a visitor touches the vehicle, he is guided to a very special virtual Audi stand: The Audi booth is a digital recreation of the Audi Meteorite, a speciale-tron experience facility installed physically at Munich Airport for a limited period from beginning 2019 and in Shanghai in autumn 2019.

Visitors of the digital experience world can not only see the second model of thee-tronfamily there, but also various features, design and technology will be explained live. In addition, the Virtual Market players have the opportunity to take guided virtual test drives around the Audi Meteorite.