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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After the E-tron concept and the E-tron Detroit Show car, Audi has brought us the e-tron technology platform based on the R8 from the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. This has turned out to be more than just a publicity stunt or science experiment. Audi is serious about bringing this car to market and has taken the time to develop a completely new ideology behind this electric R8 and the normal gasoline version.
Having the exterior design of the car already completed and in supercar form it was an easier job for the Audi engineers to develop an electric version than if they would have had to start from scratch. The mid-engine design of the R8 provides the perfect location to store heavy batteries without distorting the weight balance that Audi wanted to achieve. In essence, this electric version should be able to compete on the same levels as its V8 and V10 brothers, but will it be as exhilarating?
That all depends on what the driver sees as excitement – The V10 version will provide an unbridled amount of power and harmonious soundtrack to go along with it, but the electric version will incorporate some of the most innovative technology available today. Being able to reach high top speeds in the least amount of time is the most important thing that a sports car can deliver, if it can do it by using batteries than we don’t really see a problem. If Audi can truly create an exciting Quattro experience with its new E-Tron R8 than they will have accomplished something truly special in this emerging market.
UPDATE 09/12/2011: Audi is trying to keep the market’s interest on their new R8 E-Tron by bringing a near-production model to the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. They are calling it the "technology demonstrator" and showing off its four electric motors and a new exterior design. This pre-production model features a new grille, new carbon fiber front and rear bumpers, new rims, LED lights, and, as the most impressive addition, a highly ventilated hood.
Hit the jump for more details on the Audi R8 E-Tron.
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No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you; Volkswagen’s Nils Concept is eerily similar to the Audi E-Tron Urban Concept. The design is different based on the one rendering Volkswagen released of the Nils Concept, but the overall set-up of a study for a future urban city car makes these two cousins of the first degree.
As far as the Nils Concept goes, the concept is the result of hours upon hours of time spent researching and developing a city car for the future. The whole scope of information regarding the vehicle won’t be revealed until the Frankfurt Motor Show, but some pertinent characteristics of the Nils Concept’s powertrain have been released.
Word is that the car will carry an electric motor that produces an output of 34 horsepower with a 5.3kWh battery that takes less than two hours to fully charge. These figures translate to a 0-62 mph time of 11 seconds with a top speed of just 81 mph. The numbers aren’t overwhelming by any stretch of the imagination, but you really couldn’t have expected anything more given the whole point of it being an eco-friendly city car.
As it stands, Volkswagen has no plans of pushing the car for production anytime soon, but the Nils Concept could very well end up being a peg for a possible production version in the future.
The Peugeot EX1 Concept’s hold on the electric vehicle speed record at the Nurburgring may soon be under siege by a Japanese automaker that’s looking to blow away the EX1’s record time of 9:01.1338.
The car comes courtesy of Toyota and while they’ve yet to say the official name of the EV racing prototype, they’ve made no bones about their intention of destroying the existing EV record lap time at the Green Hell on August 29, 2011.
According to Toyota, the EV Racer - we’ll call it that for now - comes with a 41.5 kWh lithium-ceramic battery that powers two electric motors, producing an output of 375 horsepower and 590 lb/ft of torque. The whole set-up allows the race car to hit 0-62 mph in just 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 162 mph.
We’ll reserve our judgments until Toyota hits the Nurburgring for their record-breaking attempt because the EX1’s time for an EV is pretty impressive. Having said that, we’re pretty optimistic that they’ve got the resources to stake claim to the record once they’re attempts are all said and done.
UPDATE 08/30/2011: After over a month of anxiously awaiting the specific date for the attempt, we now hear that the Toyota EV Racer has finished with a record time of 7:47.79 - smashing the previous record of 9:01.338 established by the Peugeot EX1 Concept back in May 2011. With this time, the Toyota EV Racer created by Toyota Motorsports GmbH (TMG) can brag of being 30 seconds shy of times achieved by some great sports cars, like the Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and Dodge Viper ACR.
For quite some time now, Toyota has been chugging away at an electric racer, preparing it for what they hoped would be a record-breaking lap around the famous Nurburgring. After over a month of anxiously awaiting the specific date for the attempt, we now hear that the Toyota EV Racer has finished with a record time of 7:47.79 - smashing the previous record of 9:01.338 established by the Peugeot EX1 Concept back in May 2011. With this time, the Toyota EV Racer created by Toyota Motorsports GmbH (TMG) can brag of being 30 seconds shy of times achieved by some great sports cars, like the Nissan GT-R, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and Dodge Viper ACR.
The Toyota EV Racer is powered by a pair of electric motors sourced from Evo Electric that deliver a total of 375 HP and 590 pound-feet of torque. Mated to a single speed gearbox, the EV Racer will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds and will hit a top speed of 161 mph. All this while also getting a range of 124 miles.
Toyota Motorsports GmbH (TMG) Communications Officer, Alastair Moffitt, told MotorAuthority that much of the electric drivetrain powering Toyota’s new prototype is based on knowledge gained in the development of the Kinectic Energy Recovery System (KERS) used in its original F1 cars. According to Moffitt, the project is a valuable chance to test high-performance electric powertrains in a real motorsport environment, giving TMG’s engineer’s a chance to learn more about cooling, battery performance, motor performance, durability, etc.
This is only the beginning folks. While Bugatti focuses on SSC and Koenigsegg as competitors for the world’s fastest car, other automakers will be sliding in line to create bigger and faster electric vehicles. When these two worlds collide is anyone’s guess.
Check out the video of the EV Racer’s record breaking lap by clicking here!
