Category: Green Machines

“Audi intends to be the leading premium manufacturer of electric vehicles by 2020.”

That’s the opening line from the video you can see after the break which showcases the Audi e-tron Spyder. Audi first showed us this stunning hybrid coupé at last year’s Paris Motor Show.

To refresh your memory the e-tron Spyder can send 221kW of 3.0 litre V6 diesel power to the rear axle and a maximum of 64kW to the front wheels, thanks to a pair of electric motors. Audi reckon it’ll be faster than a TT RS to 100km/h. They also say the e-tron Spyder can travel over 1000km on 50 litres of fuel (but can’t a Golf 2.0 TDI already do that?). Their claim of 2.2l/100km sounds much more impressive and makes a mockery of their maths, too (2.2l/100km from a 50 litre tank would offer a range of over 2000km).

The good news for all Audi fans is they say the e-tron Spyder offers the best clue yet as to how their future sportscars will look.

In addition to the official Audi promo clip is a short video from US website Autoblog who were granted access to the same car last week. While they were capped to a top speed of only 40mph (64km/h) their video offers a more realistic insight into the stylish Spyder.

Audi has further previewed its all-electric A2 Concept with a release of new images overnight. The A2 is a car that will compete with the BMW i3 and although it is less radically styled, it still looks quite sharp.

The dramatic line through the shoulder line appears to have LED lighting within that can change colour. Very cool. Inside, the A2 Concept is futuristic minimalism resulting in a feeling of spaciousness.

It’s understood the A2 Concept will feature an 85kW/270Nm electric engine driving the front wheels only. It can reach 100km/h in around nine seconds and has a top speed of 150km/h.

The use of aluminium and carbon-fibre reinforced plastic will help keep weight to a reasonable 1150kg. Interestingly, that’s significantly less than the i3; around 90kg.

You’re looking at concept drawings of the next Audi A2. The first-generation, launched at the turn of the century, struggled to find a niche and production ceased in 2005. Audi will be hoping this revitalised version will do much better.

Compared to the original A2 the styling now embraces a stronger resemblance to the broader Audi family. Indeed, we quite like the look of this new model.

Of course, we’ll be seeing more of the A2 concept at Frankfurt in a bit over a week’s time. The show special features an all-electric powertrain and four individual seats. Such a layout allows the A2 to use its compact dimensions—3.8m long, 1.69m wide and 1.49m high—to best effect through a number of seating and storage layouts.

We’ve not been given a lot of detail, apart from these sketches, although the ‘matrix beam’ LED headlamps do sound quite interesting. So too the rear foglight, which uses fog to help project a triangular warning.

Audi has released two new images of its urban concept. This time, though, it’s in Spyder form. We think it looks fantastic. Aside from the pics there’s not much else to add. Audi has issued another press release, but it’s much the same as before, with the word ‘Spyder’ added in a few times.

Here’s the official teaser video from Audi promoting their electric-powered urban concept. It’s a 1+1 seater designed to make city commuting a breeze. This clip was filmed in central Berlin and truth be told two clips from a random spotter featured in our previous post captured more than this clip gives us (see here). Audi will show us the full monty in Frankfurt next month.