Audi has just announced next month it will unveil an electric-drive supercar concept at the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance Week, appropriately called PB 18 e-tron. ‘PB’, of course, stands for Pebble Beach and the year is 2018. The name choice also takes into account the Le Mans-series winner Audi R18 e-tron. The automaker offers very few details about the concept itself, only that it was conceived and designed by the new Audi Design Loft in Malibu, California. That Le Mans-series winner featured many new technologies that Audi claims “inspired the solutions for various details.” What details?
Also unknown for now. However, we get the clear impression the PB 18 e-tron is track-focused. The same weekend it’s making its Pebble Beach debut, it will also be heading to Southern California’s Laguna Seca racetrack as part of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion reception. Will it also do some sort of track demo for the audience? It’s certainly possible. But for now we’ll have to make do with the single image of the PB 18 e-tron’s front end, though it’s still pretty well disguised. It certainly does look aggressive even from this angle thanks to those headlights, low roofline, and bulging front fenders.
Could the PB 18 e-tron be an early preview of an eventual R8 successor? Absolutely. But what thing is certain: Audi is continuing to move at a brisk pace towards electrification. Wouldn’t having a new halo supercar showcasing that technology be ideal? We think so. Full details to come on August 23.
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