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Audi has revealed a few more details about its first-ever EV (electric vehicle), the e-Tron. Firstly, the e-Tron will have clever air inlet vents. Secondly, it will become the first volume-production model ever to be offered with virtual exterior mirrors, albeit optionally. Thirdly, the Audi e-Tron will have specially designed alloy wheels and tyres. And lastly, it will come with adaptive air suspension as standard. No matter how you look at them, they all pitch in to get the overall drag coefficient of the e-Tron down to just 0.28.

Why is a low drag coefficient important? In layman’s terms, it is a number that represents how slippery a car is on the move. Better the aerodynamics, lower the drag coefficient. And Audi had to get it as low as possible with the e-Tron as every hundredth of the drag coefficient figure represents a range of about five kilometres under daily driving conditions. Compared to a similar, conventionally powered car, the Audi e-Tron’s drag coefficient is 0.07 less.

Audi managed to reach that figure of drag coefficient with some clever all-round aerodynamic engineering. Apart from equipping the e-Tron with smart air inlet valves, which open and close automatically as and when needed, and the specially designed 19-inch alloy wheels, the tyres have their lettering in negative rather than the usual, raised kind. The 255/55 section tyres have been chosen specifically to reduce rolling resistance and still be grippy.

What else contributes to the Audi e-Tron’s slippery nature? The optionally available virtual exterior mirrors. With those installed, the width of the car shrinks by 150mm. Apart from reducing drag, the shortened width also reduces wind noise. That makes the journey a lot quieter, which is never a bad thing. Both conventional outer rear view mirrors are replaced by rear-facing cameras. The captured images appear on OLED displays in the transition between the instrument panel and door. To make matters comfortable, there are three different view settings available on Audi’s MMI system – highway driving, turning and parking.

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To make matters more aerodynamic, the Audi e-Tron will come with adaptive air suspension as standard. At speeds above 120kmph, the adjustable dampers lower the car’s height by up to 26mm which helps in reducing drag. That is complemented by the e-Tron’s fully enclosed underbody.

The Audi e-Tron has garnered a lot of traction ever since it was announced as an official project. And for good reasons. Not only will it become Audi’s first-ever pure electric vehicle to enter production, but also lay the groundwork for the company’s future EVs. Earlier this month, Audi revealed that the production-spec e-Tron will break cover for the first time at the Audi Summit in Brussels on August 30, 2018.