When Audi introduced its E-tron concept at the Frankfurt auto show, news of the electric sports car was accompanied by an assault of superlatives, hyperboles, and exclamation points. The press and public alike were quite enthralled with Audi’s claim that the E-tron makes 3319 lb-ft of torque, a number that’s roughly ten times what we typically read.

The E-tron is now set to make its U.S. debut at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show and, ahead of the fresh stories, we’d like to temper any inappropriate exaggeration because the E-tron’s real torque output is much closer to 300 lb-ft than 3000 lb-ft. Many journalists and publications (ourselves included) took the bait last time, but we know better now.

You see, Audi measures the E-tron’s 3319 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. Automobile Magazine—and any other automotive publication worth reading—reports peak torque at the output shaft of a motor or engine. The difference between torque at the wheels and at the powerplant is typically about ten-fold due to the torque multiplication effect of transmission and final drive gears. If we reported torque at the wheels, a manual-transmission 1.8-liter Toyota Corolla would be rated at 1747 lb-ft and a 3.6-liter Chevy Malibu would be right up with the E-tron, packing 3115 lb-ft of torque.

So how much torque does the E-tron actually produce from its four electric motors? Audi hasn’t been able to provide us with an exact answer, but we have a pretty good guess. We know that the E-tron wears 19-inch wheels wrapped in 235/35 rubber and has a top speed of 125 mph. Additionally, we’re going to assume that top speed occurs at the motors’ redline of 14,000 rpm, similar to the electric motor in the Tesla Roadster. With this information, the rotational speed of the tires can be compared to that of the engine and we can estimate the gear ratio between motors and wheels. That’s 13.2:1 for the E-tron.

The result is a total torque output at the motors of 252 lb-ft.

That’s still a decent amount of torque, but hardly as punchy as 3319 lb-ft. By comparison, a Tesla Roadster makes 273 lb-ft of torque and a V-8 R8 produces 317 lb-ft. Don’t get us wrong. An electric sports car that does 0-62 mph in 4.8 seconds is plenty impressive and we’re excited that the E-tron is headed for production. But now you’ll know why people aren’t so excited about 3319 lb-ft of torque.