Audi teases new electric powered PB18 e-tron concept

Audi will reveal an electric-powered supercar concept called the PB18 e-tron on 23 August, during the Pebble Beach Car Week in Monterey, California.

The firm has revealed a single darkened image of the concept, which Audi calls a “design study for a puristic sports car of the future”. The two-seater was developed at Audi’s newly established Design Loft in Malibu, California.

While Audi is remaining tight-lipped about the technical details of the PB18 e-tron, it has hinted that it will take design cues from the Le Mans-winning Audi R18 e-tron race car and include technical solutions being developed for an electric-powered successor tot he second-generation R8

Among the design elements that can be made out in the image of the low and wide PB18 e-tron are signature LED headlights and small cameras mounted atop the cockpit that provide real-time video for rear-view purposes. They are similar in design to features set to be options on Audi’s first series-production electric car, the e-tron, which will be unveiled on 17 September in San Francisco, California.

The PB18 e-tron name references both Pebble Beach and the R18 e-tron quattro race car that won 24 Hours of Le Mans three times between 2012 and 2014. It also hints at spiritual links to the R8, which also took its name from a Le Mans-winning car.

The concept will be unveiled on the Laguna Seca racetrack before going on display at The Quail event.

It is the second electric-powered concept to be confirmed for this year’s Pebble Beach; Mercedes-Benz said it intends to reveal a dramatic homage to its earlier streamlined record breakers with a car known to insiders as the Electric Sivler Arrow.