Audi R18 e-Tron Quattro is the world’s first LMP1 car to combine a highly-efficient TDI with a hybrid system. The race car will make its official debut on May 5 in the six-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and will compete for overall victory at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans in France on June 16/17.
“Audi has always consciously selected championships and categories in racing that have a close relationship to production and therefore have technical relevance for the Audi customers,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who personally drove the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro onto the stage on Wednesday evening during its world premiere in the Audi Training Center at Munich airport – electrically and almost silent.
“Quattro, TFSI and TDI are three excellent examples of how motorsport has stimulated production development. A similar tendency is apparent with the e-tron quattro: we test a completely new technology on the race track before it’s introduced to the Audi production line.”, he added.
The R18 e-tron quattro uses recovered kinetic energy, which is fed as electric into a flywheel accumulator before being retrieved under acceleration again above a speed of 120 km/h. The extremely efficient V6 TDI diesel produces 510PS (375 kW) powering the rear wheels. Both systems complement each other to create the new drive principle e-tron quattro.
“The TDI engine invented by Audi is still the most efficient drive in the world,” said Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich.
“We are convinced that the TDI has even more potential. This is why Audi not only supports the hybrid in motorsport as it does in production, but in parallel also the further development of the conventional drive.”, he added.
Audi Sport Team Joest will field two R18 e-tron quattro and two R18 ultra prototypes in the Le Mans 24 Hours on June 16/17. The two hybrid cars are driven by last year’s winning trio Marcel Fässler (CH), André Lotterer (D) and Benoît Tréluyer (F) as well as Dindo Capello (I), Tom Kristensen (DK) and Allan McNish (GB) who boast a total of 13 Le Mans wins between them. New signing
Source: Audi
Audi is currently exhibiting A3 e-Tron Concept at the Auto Shanghai 2011. It is a four-seat sedan, which is not full electric, but features a plug-in hybrid system. A3 e-Tron Concept is based on the A3 sedan Concept, which was recently introduced at the Geneva Auto Show.
Audi has revealed A3 e-Tron, which is based on the Sportback version of the model.
Audi А5 e-Tron Quattro Plug-in Hybrid Prototype has not only an incredibly long name, but it also features some very good qualities.The car is powered by a 2.0 liter TFSI engine developing 211PS (155 kW) and two electric motors, one on the front axle, which adds 45PS (33 kW) and one on the rear axle adding another 81PS (60 kW). The second electric motor delivers power only when acceleration requires it to or when sensors detect a loss of rear traction such as in a hard curve. There is also a 9.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.А5 e-Tron Quattro Plug-in Hybrid can go only on electricity up to 40 km (25 miles) with speeds up to 100 km/h (62 mph). The fuel consumption is staggering – 2.7 liters per 100 km and the acceleration is 5.9 seconds to 100 km/h. The top speed is 228 km/h (142 mph). Not bad for a hybrid car!Audi А5 e-Tron Quattro Plug-in Hybrid Prototype has a curb weight of 1 600kg, which is the same as standard 2.0 TFSI A5 Quattro. The engineers used a lot of carbon fiber and aluminum parts to achieve this result.Looks like, we all gonna drive plug-in hybrids in the near future, which will be faster and more agile than our current vehicles.
Electric cars are virtually silent at speeds up to 25 km/h ( 15mph), because of that the risk to others is obvious. This is the reason, why Audi is working on the acoustics of the EVs.
Audi A1 e-Tron is on its way. The company teamed up with E.ON, Stadtwerke Munchen and the Technical University of Munich to begin tests of twenty A1 e-Tron cars.
Audi is showing an uncompromising purist compact sports car with all-electric drive at the first major auto show of 2010. The Detroit showcar Audi e-tron is the name of this 3.93 metre long and 1.78 metre wide but just 1.22 metre tall two-seater; just a few months after the debut of the Audi e-tron at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, this is now the second electric concept vehicle from the brand with the four rings.