British magazine Autocar reports that a team of engineers at Audi's Ingolstadt headquarters are advancing plans to put the Quattro Concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show into limited production. If approved, this would see the nouvea-Quattro being built in limited numbers at ItalDesign's plant near Milan.
The e-tron system in this car will help it hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.4 seconds on its way to a limited 250 km/h (155 mph), provide an all-electric range of 31 miles, return a combined 128.4 mpg, and only pollute your air with 59 g of CO2 per kilometer. Total range is 621 miles for the 1,450-kg car.
In this case, though, the 2.5-liter unit makes 408-horsepower / 300 kW and uses a 6-speed manual transmission to drive all four 20-inch wheels with 480 Nm / 354 lb-ft. Behind the center-locking dubs are carbon-ceramic discs wearing 6-piston grippers.
With its high-output 5-pot and diet, the new quattro is said to be able to spring to 100 km/h / 62 mph in a scant 3.9 seconds and return a fuel economy of 8.5 liters/100 km (27.67 mpg US).
The Ingolstadt-based automaker said that by the middle of next year, 20 examples of the A1 e-tron will take to the streets of Munich as part of a pilot project undertaken by Audi AG in partnership with E.ON, the Munich municipal utility company Stadtwerke München (SWM) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
Similar in concept to Volvo's T6 Roadster, the Audi Gentleman's Racer is an old-school rodder with foreign ancestry. Created by industrial designer Mikael Lugnegård of Sweden, the "Gent's Racer" does its part to commemorate a piece of American automotive history with an (unofficial) Audi touch. The grille is actually Audi, but adapted for the unique look of this proposed model.
Read more »
"With the changed appearance, the Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak is now squarely aligned with Audi cars that made motorsports history a generation ago in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and other rally racing events," said the German manufacturer in a statement.
Have a look at the gallery below and see what tickles your fancy. The SUV limos are a bit much, but the rag-top conversions don't look too bad (especially the CLS and 300).
Just as BMW tried to invent a new market with its 5-Series GT, the Audi A9 would aim to be in a league of its own: over-styled (in a good way) über-luxury hybrid sports saloons. A technologically-advanced Panamera killer.
Garcia says some of the lines were inspired by architect Santiago Calatrava's buildings in Valencia. As for that opaque front wind-ceiling, it's made of "as-yet undiscovered nanotechnology material" that can fix itself and be color/tint adjusted.
The other four custom A1s are a "Hot Rod" version with a matt-finish look, steel wheels with white-wall tires and extremely low ride height thanks to the air suspension, one fitted with a "competition kit" that pays homage to Audi rally vehicles from the 1980s, the "Wasserwacht" model that's dedicated to the local water rescue service and a "Fashion" edition.
The A8 Hybrid is a good example of Audi's downsizing philosophy mating a 2.0-liter TFSI four-cylinder gasoline engine with 211HP and 350 Nm (258.15 lb-ft) to an electric motor delivering 45HP and 211 Nm (155.63 lb-ft) of torque.
Audi says that the system's combined output is 245HP and 480 Nm (354.03 lb-ft) of torque. Since the numbers don't add up, we're assume that the electric motor's output is limited when combined with the TSI.
This time, the 'e-tron' treatment was applied on Audi's spanking-new A1 premium supermini that uses a front-mounted electric motor producing 102HP and 240Nm to drive the wheels with a 254cc single-rotor Wankel engine that runs at 5,000 rpm, kicking in to charge the lithium-ion batteries when they are depleted.
Read more »
It's touted as "the first Audi with a combination of gasoline engine and electric motor". Cool, but far from thrilling. Next up, for the executive hippie segment, is the world debut of the marque's A8 hybrid "engineering study" at the Geneva Show on Tuesday. People will be able to order Audi's green luxo-cruiser sometime come late 2011.
Marketed as a Mega City Vehicle (MCV), the new A1 e-tron is said to return an electricity-only range of 50 km / 31 miles by means of a 75 kW / 102 HP power train.
We'll avoid to play the guessing game about the type of vehicle that Audi is planning to surprise us in Geneva, but feel free to entertain us with your thoughts in the comment section after the jump.
Read more »
