The silent supercar revolution is here! A production prototype of Audi’s e-tron has been spied testing in Germany just weeks before Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division launches its electric SLS.

The two German powerhouses are in a race to dominate the electric supercar world, and snapped testing not far from home in Bavaria, this mule is as notable for what it doesn't have as what it does.

For starters, there are no air intakes anywhere on the e-tron prototype and it has even blanked off the traditional front and side air intakes of the V8 and V10 R8s on which it is based.

First shown at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi claimed the production version would have a total of 4500Nm of torque from the instant the driver stepped on the throttle – or about six times what the most powerful petrol-engined cars have on offer now.

It achieves that, plus 313hp of power, by having an in-board electric motor driving each wheel and a liquid-cooled, mid-mounted Lithium-Ion battery pack. While Audi claimed the e-tron would have a typical range of just under 155 miles, the concept car used enough torque to blast from 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds. Although top speed wil be limited to 125mph when it goes on sale next year.

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