You could say, given that the e-tron has pure electric drivetrain to match the American carmaker's zero-emission supercars. But Audi actually doesn't share the same view; it merely wants to showcase what a sports car could be like in the future.
Although Audi has given any hint of association with the RS badge, the e-tron,star of last month's Frankfurt motor show,shares the same basic concept with Audi's supercar currently on sale: aluminium spaceframe body and mid-engine layout.
The e-tron concept has an electric motor spinning each of the four wheels,essentially maintaining the all-wheeldrive Quattro feature of Audi cars. The outputs are rated at 313hp and a stupendous 4,500Nm. Despite that eyepopping amount of torque, its 4.8sec 0-100kph time is still slower than any of the R8s on sale.
So why bother with the e-tron?
C'mon mate, this is an electric supercar we're talking about. In other words, it's a zero-emission car for high-performance driving enthusiasts. Moreover, the e-tron marks a new milestone for Audi's electric car project that will take off shortly with support from the German government.
As many of you would know, there are many challenges in getting electric cars to the market, be it on the technical,infrastructural or financial side.
Like so many other electric and hybrid cars being showcased by other manufacturers, the e-tron uses lithium-ion batteries which have become the accepted norm for the moment. If you'd like to know, the e-tron is claimed to be able to drive for 248km - twice the distance of most production-ready electric cars today - before heading to the electric socket.
Will Audi make it then?
Not likely for the moment. Electric drivetrains are still terribly expensive to make. Production costs would come down only when there are enough cars on the road using them.
One way to fast-track such technology is to introduce hybrids first. Batterybacked electric motors coupled to either diesel or petrol engine may need to be introduced first - as Toyota, MercedesBenz and BMW are doing.
So before we can really see an electric R8, a hybrid may come out first. Also,don't forget that Audi earlier showed a diesel R8 concept armed with a 500hp/1,000Nm 6.0-litre V12 which is far cheaper to produce than the e-tron, although rumours suggest it won't be made.
Can the e-tron also be an experimental car in design terms?
The e-tron is basically R8, although the European media was quick to point out that Audi could be hinting to a smaller R8 brother in the guise of R4, to be pinned with roadster models from Porsche and Volkswagen.
The logic behind the R4 is to have a two-seater slot beneath the 911-chasing R8. Volkswagen has already given clues to a new mid-engine sports car based on the Concept BlueSport. Other sources also suggest that the e-tron's aggressive chinoir-headlamps could become a new design hallmark for Audi which could first appear in the all-new replacement for the A8 flagship saloon due to be unveiled later this year.
The e-tron's dashboard looks equally as cool...
Dashboards angled towards the driver are becoming the norm in Audis. In the e-tron, the effect is more pronounced,achieved by minimising the number of switches on the fascia.
The centralised MMI function appears to stay, but the novelty is the monitor behind the steering wheel placed between the left and right dial acting as info-display pertaining to route guidance,traffic lights and traffic density to allow the driver to adjust the driving style.
Don't try imagining it would work in busy cities like Bangkok noted for notorious traffic management handled by the police who have a penchant to manually control traffic from their air-con kiosks - even on some Sunday mornings.
So like the e-tron's design and drivetrain, this interior could be pointing to new ideas we're likely to see in future Audis - the same way BMW did with its Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics (see Motoring , Sept 4) by introducing a host of new technical and design aspects.
Friday, October 2, 2009
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