When Audi unveiled the Urban Concept at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, we honestly believed it was a huge waste of time because there was no chance Audi would ever actually put it into production. Turns out, we were absolutely wrong.
Audi has just announced that the Urban Concept will indeed go into production and that it will be limited to only 999 units. Sales will begin in 2013 at a starting price of £8,800 or about $14,000 at the current exchange rates.
The production version will feature two electric motors powered by a lithium ion battery and a single-speed transmission. The model will be built using carbon-fiber reinforced plastic and will weigh only 1,058 lbs. This will help the car sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds and hit a top speed of 60 mph. It is also expected to see an average range of 30 miles.
This will, by far, be the strangest production Audi produced as of now.
Next to the Quattro concept, Audi has also unveiled at the Paris Auto Show the e-tron Spyder, a concept rumored to preview the future R4 sports car. But compared to the previous E-tron concept, this one is powered by a turbochargers 3,0 Liter TDI engine with an output of 300 HP, combined with two asynchronous electric motors with a total output of 88 HP. The result is a sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4,4 seconds and a top speed limited to 155 mph. All this while delivering a fuel economy of 106.92 US mpg.
The E-tron Spyder measures 1.81 meters (5.94 ft) wide, just 4.06 meters (13.32 ft) long and only 1.11 meters (3.64 ft) in height. It features a wide central air inlet, single-frame grille, adaptive matrix beam headlight modules with three-dimensional clear glass covers carbon inserts in the front and side windows and of course 20-inch wheels.
The interior gets a large, display with integrated MMI functions and flanked by two round dials; racing-inspired lightweight bucket seats, contrasting colors and high-quality materials.
UPDATE 10/18/11: The Audi E-Tron Spyder was recently spotted at Mulholland Drive in California doing some test work. And today Audi has unveiled a new video showing the concept in action in Malibu. Also, we have added new photos of the car, which you can check out by heading to the gallery.
Press release after the jump.
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A few days ago, a mysterious Audi prototype was spotted in Berlin decked in camouflage, leading to the proverbial question as to what kind of car it was. Fortunately, the mystery didn’t last long.
The German automaker has released the first details of its new Urban E-Tron Concept that will be gracing us with its presence at the coming Frankfurt Motor Show. It took a while for Audi to release all the information of the Urban E-Tron Concept, but thankfully, did so just in time for the opening of Frankfurt, complete with all the performance numbers that might not tickle the fancies of those looking for some speed to go with the cool city car concept.
UPDATE 11/02/2011: We thought the Audi Urban E-Tron Concept was a huge waste of time because there was no chance Audi would ever actually put it into production. Turns out, we were absolutely wrong.
Audi has just announced that the Urban Concept will indeed go into production and that it will be limited to only 999 units. Sales will begin in 2013 at a starting price of £8,800 or about $14,000 at the current exchange rates.
Check out more details on the Audi Urban E-Tron Concept after the jump.
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You have to excuse us for doing a little double-take on Audi’s new Frankfurt-bound Urban Spyder Concept. We actually thought that this was the same concept as the Urban E-Tron Concept that we introduced a few days ago. As it turns out, they’re two completely different models. Who knew, right?
The overall look of the car is completely similar to that of the Urban E-Tron Concept, including stand-out features like the free-standing 21” wheels and the surrounding plates that incorporate those strips of LED lights. However, where the E-Tron has a sliding roof and doors, the Spyder Concept doesn’t have a roof at all and instead features a low, continuous window area with its doors opening upwards diagonally.
As for the interior, well, we don’t see anything different either. Both models carry a 1+1 seating configuration with each of the seats being made from carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) to provide supreme sturdiness in a lightweight set-up.
Finally, the Urban Spyder Concept also runs on two E-Tron electric motors that provides the power for the car and combined with a lithium-ion battery pack that supplies the energy.
That’s about as much as we’ve been told for now. But rest assured, we’ll share more details as soon as they become available.
Audi has taken their E-tron concept a step forward with the unveiling of the E-tron A3 concept - a compact car featuring a powerful electric motor and a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery. Although the concept looks almost identical to the production A3, there are a few elements that will help distinguish it. The concept has received a revised instrument cluster, leather Alcantara seats, a heated windshield, and an optimized air conditioning system.
The most important difference between the two concepts can be found in the powertrain. As a hybrid concept, Audi decided to use a different engine than the one found in the A3 Sedan Concept. Instead of the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine of the A3 concept, the E-tron version has a slightly less powerful 1.4-liter TFSI turbocharged gas engine that doesn’t come close to the output the former has.
Of course, being a hybrid concept, performance takes a back seat to fuel efficiency and that’s where the E-tron A3 Concept has the upper hand over the gasoline-powered A3 Concept.
Details on the Audi E-tron A3 after the jump.
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