This is the new China-only AUDI E5, and it’ll do 478 miles on ONE CHARGE

No, we really did hear you the first time. At the opening of the 2025 Shanghai motor show, Audi's China-only brand – sorry, AUDI – has shouted its intentions from the rooftops via its new E5 Sportback.

First seen as a prototype, this here’s the full PRODUCTION CAR, imagined as a fully-electric fastback that’s slightly longer than a Q6, but shorter than a Q7. It’s been spun off a new “Advanced Digitised Platform” developed by both Audi Germany and SAIC, to offer a range of power outputs.

And there’s a wide span of POWER. AUDI IS OFFERING – sorry, left the caps lock on – AUDI is offering the new E5 in four variants, rising from 295bhp, 402bhp and 570bhp right up to a range-topping 776bhp version, in either rear-drive or full quattro spec. The quickest of these – we suspect the 776bhp quattro car – can accelerate from 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds. Yes, THREE POINT FOUR. Fast.

There’s a 100kWh battery fitted to all variants, 800V architecture to allow for REALLY FAST CHARGING – 230 miles in 10 minutes is the claim – and a maximum driving range of 478 miles. Confident, Audi-spec miles, too: it gets all-wheel-steering and adaptive air suspension “for a smooth, refined ride”.

Looks pretty smooth too, no? We said LOOKS PRETTY SMOOTH, no? It’s practically a facsimile of the E Concept we saw last November: that rectangular design echoed across both the front and back of the E5, slim LED lights, a swooping fastback silhouette, lots of aero (floating front spoiler, rear wing, air curtains, the usual), and massive wheels.

Massive interior, too. There’s the obligatory touchscreen able to power a rocket mission to your chosen star, here an “immersive” 27in pillar-to-pillar 4K monster. It’s fully customisable. It’s also fully huge. The thing powering it is even bigger – a QUALCOMM Snapdragon 8295 chipset able to perform 30 billion operations per second that you’ll use to… adjust the interior temperature. Once.

And power the AI assistant, of course. Yes, AI ASSISTANT. And the suite of driver assistance too, helped along by LiDAR, ultrasonic sensors, cameras and “several multi-modal sensing units”. Can’t get enough of those.

Looks like Audi can’t get enough of AUDI, either, because this E5 Sportback is but the first of THREE all-electric AUDIs that’ll be launched across 2026 and 2027. We’re guessing they’ll be called the AUDIER and AUDIEST, right? RIGHT?