One of the strategic corporate objectives of Audi is to develop technologies that combine driving fun with sustainability. It seeks solutions that strike a balance between individual mobility on one hand and economy, ecology and the requirements of Audi customers on the other. The models of the Audi tron family demonstrate especially well how these seemingly opposing pulls can be reconciled. g-tron stands for drive concepts that run on synthetic Audi e-gas and natural gas and achieve an excellent CO₂ footprint. The first production model to pave the way for CO₂-neutral long-distance mobility is the A3 Sportback g-tron. The term e-tron, on the other hand, stands for the systematic electrification of the driveline. As one outcome of its research and development projects in this area, Audi is now going into volume production with the A3 Sportback e-tron, the first premium compact car with plug-in hybrid drive.
“The Audi tron family stands for plug-in hybrids suitable for everyday driving and CO2-neutral long-distance mobility,” said Wolfgang Dürheimer, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development at AUDI AG. “Our approach leads to sustainable and zero-emissions mobility that is both fun and affordable.” The A3 Sportback g-tron and A3 Sportback e-tron already show how diverse the Audi range of technologies for sustainable mobility is. Audi will be bringing further pioneering cars onto the market in rapid succession.
With its plug-in hybrid concept, the A3 Sportback e-tron combines the advantages of a 1.4 TFSI combustion engine with those of electric drive. The power is transmitted to the front wheels via a newly developed e-S tronic. The liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery is located ahead of the front axle; it stores 8.8 kWh of energy, enough to drive 50 kilometers purely electrically and therefore with zero local emissions. With 204 hp of system power and 350 Nm of system torque, the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron is a sporty premium compact vehicle. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds and reaches a top speed of 222 km/h. The overall range is 940 kilometers. Consumption measured in accordance with the ECE standard averages just 1.5 liters of fuel per 100 km, equivalent to CO2 emissions of 35 grams per kilometer. The A3 Sportback e-tron will go on sale in Germany from the end of 2013.
The 1.4-liter TFSI engine of the A3 Sportback g-tron runs on Audi e-gas, a synthetic fuel that in chemical terms is almost identical to natural gas and can therefore be distributed as mains natural gas. This fuel, which Audi produces at its new facility in Werlte/Germany, is CO2-neutral. Its starting components are water and carbon dioxide, and it is produced using exclusively renewable power. The A3 Sportback g-tron will be arriving at dealers in Germany before the end of this year.
Motor sport is the ideal development lab for new technologies. At last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the R18 e-tron quattro brought Audi a historic double victory with a hybrid racecar that highlights just how much power an electrified driveline can put on the road. As well as the R18 e-tron quattro, Audi brought out a second high-tech car – the all-electric-drive R8 e-tron high-performance sports car. It sprints from a standstill to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and is governed at 200 km/h. Its two electric motors supply the rear wheels with a combined 280 kW of power and 820 Nm of torque. Every facet of this high-performance sports cars demonstrates the sheer breadth of what is technically feasible. All Audi production developments will now benefit from the expertise acquired throughout this project.
The Audi A1 e-tron is a technology demonstrator of entirely different stature. It is conceived as a specialist for urban driving and is currently participating in the German government’s “Electric Mobility Showcase” pilot project. Its electric motor achieves peak output of 85 kW. The battery stores 13.3 kWh, making a operating range of 50 km possible. For longer journeys a rear-mounted combustion engine, which in its second development stage develops 34 hp, charges up the electric motor via an alternator.